THE EFFECTIVE CHANGE PROCESS TOWARDS A
PARTICIPATIVE MANAGEMENT APPROACH IN A
TOP-DOWN ORIENTED ORGANIZATION
Masther Thesis, MscBa, specialization change management University of Groningen, Faculty of Economics and Business
May, 2011 Gerdien Hammer Student number: 1738550 Kievit 30 8281 GG Genemuiden Tel.: +31 038-3854832 Email: g.hammer@student.rug.nl Supervisor University: Drs. L. de Waal Dr. C. Reezigt
Supervisor field study Dhr. D.R. van Hattem
ABSTRACT
Efficiency and effectiveness are in times of economic turndown when organizations should cutting the costs of their operations often mentioned concepts. Public organizations, like Y, wants to be
comparable with private, commercial companies because these companies apparently operate far more effective and efficient. In order to become a market conform operating organization, the contribution and input of employees to this change process is considered necessary by the management of the logistic department within company X. This is why a more cooperative, participative style of management will be implemented in a traditionally top-down oriented organization. This thesis provides insight in how commitment, enhanced by support, can influence employees’ participation in order to change effectively. Commitment of the employees is dependent on the information which is given to employees, the communication towards the employees and the trust in the relation between employees and their supervisors. The analytical framework which is constructed will be tested in a field study within company X, which is a part of Y in the Netherlands.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT 2
1. INTRODUCTION 5
1.1 Description of the organization 5
1.2 Research description and boundaries 6
1.3 Research objectives 9
1.4 Thesis structure 9
2. THEORETICAL DISCUSSION AND HYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT 10
2.1 Participation 11 2.2 Commitment 16 2.3 Support 22 2.4 Information 25 2.4 Communication 29 2.6 Trust 33 3. METHODOLOGY 39
3.1 Sample and procedure 40
3.2 Measures 40
3.3 Data analysis 43
4. RESULTS 45
4.1 Correlation 45
4.2 Testing hypotheses 48
4.3 Additional suggestions from the questionnaires 52
5. DISCUSSION, IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION 54
5.1 Answer main question 54
5.2 Contributions of this research 58
5.3 Management implications 59
5.4 Limitations and further research 63
5.5 Conclusions 66
REFERENCES 67
APPENDICES 76
Appendix A: Extensive description of company X 76
Appendix B: Questionnaire 79
Appendix C: Composition questionnaire 90
Appendix D: Characteristics of respondents 95
Appendix E: Extensive description statistics 89
Appendix F: Scatter plots 109
1. INTRODUCTION
Because of the economic turndown, governmental institutions like Y have to deal with cutting the costs of their operations. The intention of Y is to be comparable with private, commercial companies, because previous research indicates that logistic companies like e.g. Wehkamp and DHL work far more effective and efficient than company X. Company X wants to operate conform the market1. That is why this department will be confronted with changes in order to become a market conform operator. The managers of the logistic department argue that the employees can contribute with their input in this change process to become a market conform organization. For this reason they want to implement a more cooperative, participative style of management instead of the traditional, hierarchical top-down oriented style of management they have in the organization. Before explaining more about this
research, a description of company X will be given.
1.1 Description of the organization -
Y is a large, hierarchical, bureaucratic organization. This bureaucratic organization is a machine bureaucracy because of the following characteristics. As noticed within the logistic department of company X, there are routine operating tasks. Y, including company X, is very formalised in their procedures in the operating core. Furthermore there are a lot of rules, regulations and the communication between all the departments inside the organization is very formalised. The decisions about, for example cutting costs, are made in The Hague, so there is a centralised power for decision making. It is noticed that the logistic department within company X is not as centralized, hierarchical and bureaucratic as other departments, see paragraph 5.3. the machine bureaucracy is found in environments which are simple and stable. Machine bureaucracy is not common in complex and dynamic environments. The environment of company X is experienced by most of the respondents in this research as a complex and dynamic environment, see appendix D chart 6. It is the opinion of the management of the logistic department that the machine bureaucracy is not the right approach which fits with the complex and dynamic environment, therefore they are trying to change. It is possible that the respondents misinterpret the environment and its characteristics, but based on the outcome of the questionnaire, it is assumed that the environment is complex and dynamic. According to the management of the logistic department a more participative approach fits better with the environment of company X. That is why the management of the logistic department of company X wants to implement a participative management approach in a traditionally top-down oriented
organization. This research contributes to the change the management of the logistic department wants
1 This research will investigate the transition process towards a participative approach. Attention will be paid to
to make. The environment is not the only reason to change towards a more participative management approach, the current economic turn-down is also a reason for this change.
During the economic turndown efficiency and effectiveness are very often mentioned terms. Company X is also an organization which is trying to work more efficient and effective. To become an efficient organization, the management of the logistic department inside company X realized that in order to work more efficient and effective there should be changes on organizational level (e.g. strategy, structure and systems) as well as changes amongst employees in behaviour and conduct. Bartlett and Ghoshal (1996) argue that an effective change process needs to focus simultaneously on the company’s ‘hardware’, which are the strategy, structure and systems within an organization as well on its ‘software’, which are the motivations values and commitment of the companies’ employees. This research will focus on the employees within an organization; this is according to me the most interesting, fascinating aspect of an organization. This research is about change management and the people are eventually the spindle within changes. The employees, their influence, ways to influence employees, their opinions, behaviours and conduct are studied in this research. Managers and
supervisors are in the position to influence opinions, behaviours and conduct of employees, that is why the focus of this research is also on the relation between employees and managers. Assumptions based on theory research will lead to a conceptual model that subsequently will be tested by questionnaires amongst employees and managers. Eventually this should lead to more insight in to how a more cooperative, participative style of management can be achieved during an economic turndown, in a hierarchical, top-down oriented organization.
1.2 Research description and boundaries
To become a market conform organization, the management of the logistic department wants to change from a traditional hierarchical top-down oriented style of management towards a more cooperative, participative approach. A major change is necessary to eventually implement a participative management style in the organization. Because it is a major change, it is important to know how there can be changed effectively. This research will emphasize the transition process and that is why the ultimate goal of this research is to determine the ingredients of an effective change.
Based on recent literature the assumption in this research is made that participation of
employees is needed for successful, effective change (e.g. Brown and Cregan, 2008; Holt, Armenakis, Field and Harris, 2007 and Price and Chahal 2006). The degree of participation is dependent on the amount of commitment amongst the employees (Bennis, 2000; Lau and Woodman, 1995; Porter, Steers, Mowday and Boulian, 1974). Therefore the assumption is made that if employees are
Not every employee is committed; in this research there are three elements which contribute to become a committed employee. These three elements are all important within change processes and they will influence the level of commitment amongst employees. According to the existing literature information (Smidts, Pruyn and Van Riel, 2001), communication (Neves and Caetano, 2009) and trust (Vlaar, Van den Bosch and Volberda, 2007) are important aspects during changes and influences the level of commitment.
Without information, employees will not be committed to anything. Like Smidts et al., (2001:1052) argue“adequate information about an organization strengthens identification with the organization”. It is crucial to provide information in order to create commitment. From providing information to communication is a small step, made by making the provisions of information a two-way process.
Therefore communication is the second characteristic, of the change process that will be investigated in this research, because communication is needed to spread information. The assumption is that for employees to become committed to a change process, talking, listening to others, reading, thinking about the change is necessary. People should have the possibility to express their concerns, ask questions and give their opinions and subsequently get answers. The assumption is that as a result of the process of exchanging thoughts and opinions, employees become committed.
The impact of trust between a manager and an employee in a change process is very important. This study will show that if employees trust their manager, they will suppose that the change is good for the organization and because of this trust they will become more committed by the change process and cooperate with the change.
Because of the intention or goal of the logistic department inside company X to become a more cooperative and participative department, participation is the most important element in the conceptual framework. Of course there are more factors influencing employee participation, but commitment is an interesting factor for this research, because of the scarce availability of previous research regarding the relation between commitment and participation.
The assumption is, given the earlier mentioned literature, that the elements information, communication and trust have a significant influence on commitment. The elements information, communication and trust are ceteris paribus. It is the assumption that these factors are kept constant while investigating the relationship between commitment and participation. This way it is possible to observe the direct relationship between commitment and participation and not have to take into consideration the outside factors contributing.
Contributing to the existing literature about the different aspects mentioned above, this research is about the relations between the different aspects in an employment relation inside a traditional top-down organization. Top-down oriented organization is an organization where a few senior managers at the top of the organization decide how to run the organization (Burnes, 2004). The business dictionary2 stated that it is an approach in which the board decides what the results are to be achieved and how this should be done, and passes the plan down the hierarchy or management levels. This approach is disseminated under their authority to lower levels in the hierarchy, who are, to a greater or lesser extent, bound by them. A traditional top-down organization is not a participative organization. This research should give a recommendation how a top-down organization can be transformed towards a more participative cooperation inside an organization.
The different objects in this research have my personal interest. The human factor with all its influences inside an organization is very interesting. The influence of information, communication and trust inside a change process, are according to me, incredible important factors and that is why I like to investigate these aspects especially inside an organization like Y where the top of the organization decide everything.
This study will explore the effects of changes in commitment within an employment relation. Specifically in a traditionally top-down oriented organisation that is trying to change towards a more participative management style. The focus therefore will be on the relationship between commitment and participation. The impact of the following three characteristics of commitment will be explored: communication, information sharing and trust. The impact of support on the relationship between commitment and participation will be explored as well.
The question to be answered in this research is: “To what extent does commitment in organisational change processes, moderated by the effect of support, contribute to a participative cooperation between managers and the workforce inside Logistiek Centrum Woensdrecht?”
To answer this question a conceptual framework is made and hypotheses will be tested. The
framework will be applied in a public organization that is undergoing a transformation towards a more participative organization with the aim to result in a more efficient organization which can compare itself with private, commercial organizations.
1.3 Research objectives
Based on the research description, five research objectives are identified. The research objectives are as follows:
2 http://www.businessdictionary.com : Online Business Dictionary features over 20,000 terms and over 115,000
1. To review and explore extant literature on commitment, participation, organizational change management and the subjects influencing commitment and participation.
2. To construct a conceptual framework and thereby hypotheses.
3. To compose a questionnaire as the methodological technique for data collection in order to unravel the interaction between commitment and participation.
4. To analyze and report the results of the questionnaire and report these to the management of the logistic department inside company X.
5. To draw implications for future research along this direction.
1.4 Thesis structure
After the introduction in this first section, theory on commitment, participation and change
effectiveness will be build up in the second section with thereby the hypotheses. This theory building will result in a conceptual framework, which describes the supposed relations from the literature in a well-organized manner. Section three will elaborate on the methodology used to investigate and test the hypotheses in practice. In section four the results of the empirical research will be presented. The results will be discussed in section five, which will lead to the implications that can be derived from this research. The limitations of this research will be discussed and recommendations for further research will be given. Section five ends with a conclusion.
2. THEORY SECTION AND HYPOTHESES DEVELOPEMENT
As described in the introduction, it is assumed that several aspects have an impact on commitment and participation. This theory section will deal with these aspects. The first paragraph of this chapter (§2.1) will describe the concept of participation and the relation with the effectiveness of change. This literature shows that commitment is an important predictor of the amount of participation, that is why commitment and the relation with participation will be described in the next paragraph (§2.2). As said in the introduction, support is an important aspect within change processes. Paragraph three will discuss the impact of support on the relation between commitment and participation (§2.3). As described in the introduction and appears in the existing literature there are three factors influencing the level of commitment: information, communication and trust. The fourth paragraph is all about information during changes (§2.4). Because people can not give or share information without
communication, communication will be described in paragraph five (§2.5). Paragraph six will describe the last factor which will influence the level of commitment, trust (§2.6). After reviewing the existing literature on the different aspects, hypotheses will be drafted and this chapter ends with the conceptual model which will be tested in this research.
Structure of the paragraphs
2.1 Participation
This first paragraph of chapter two will describe more about participation. Participation is an important ingredient for change effectiveness. In the first
subparagraph attention will be paid towards the ultimate goal of the managers of the logistic department ,
implementing a more participative approach. That is Figure 1: Conceptual framework
why the first subparagraph is about participative management. Because the transition from the traditional, hierarchical management practice towards a more participative approach is not without obstacles, attention will be paid towards the barriers which can block the effective use of participative management in subparagraph two. The third subparagraph is about participation during changes and the relation between participation and change effectiveness. The third subparagraph is important for the rest of this research, because this research is about participation in changing situations. The existing literature about participation, participative management and the relation between participation and change effectiveness will be reviewed in this paragraph.
2.1.1 Participative management
There has been written a lot about participation, participative management and participative decision making. This sub-paragraph will give more information about these concepts in order to make clear what is meant by participation in this research.
What is common in a lot of definitions is the joint decision making. According to Locke et al., (1986:66) participation is “joint decision making, either by a manager and one employee or a
manager and a group of employees”. Participation should be used to allow knowledgeable individuals to contribute to a decision, to address conflicting approaches or views, or to gain new sources of expertise and experience (Locke et al., 1986). Mudacumura (2000) also argues that the fundamental premise of participative management is that employees want to share in the decision making process and that they have the ability to help develop better decisions. Employee involvement in decision making represent a fundamental change in the way decisions are made in organizations (Brown and Cregan, 2008). It is a two-way, proactive process. This means management needs to relinquish some of its control over decision making to provide employees with an opportunity to provide input and help determined the outcome (Strauss in Brown and Cregan, 2008).
Now the concept of participation and participative management is described and which situations are appropriate to use participation are explained, the reason why participation is important will be reviewed. The study of Crane (1976) pointed out that when employees feel a sense of
participation and task involvement; they will identify with the organization, take responsibility and strive to contribute to the organization’s objectives. Nurick (1983) argues that participation increases feeling of personal control over and ownership of decisions. Such feelings are likely to increase personal involvement with the job and the organization. Nurick (1983) also explains that since
participation increases knowledge about changes, individuals are less likely to feel that management is hiding something from them. In the area of human relations, participation is primarily viewed as a mean of obtaining cooperation, a technique that the managers could use to improve morale, reduce subordinates’ resistance to their policies or decisions and increase willingness to change
(Mudacumura, 2000). Participation in decision making increases the quality of decision making, there are a lot of authors who emphasize the quality of decision making in their studies (e.g. Brown and Cregan 2008, Crane 1976, Lowin 1968, Miller and Monge 1986). “Subordinates can contribute information to improve the quality of organizational decision making” (Lowin, 1968:75). Employees could have more complete knowledge of their work than management; hence if employees participate in decision making, decisions will be made with better pools of information (Miller and Monge, 1986). This is also argued by Brown and Cregan (2008:672) when they argue in their study that “employees know more about their jobs and could contribute to a higher quality of decision making than their supervisors would achieve on their own”.
derived from participative management are the following (Crane, 1976): promotes understanding of the why’s of a decision before it is made, brings more expert knowledge to bear on the decision, provide more valid viewpoints because persons closest to the situation are involved, develops interest and enthusiasm of subordinates. When employees have opportunities to become involved in decision making, they will take more responsibilities for the decision and be less likely to criticize management motives and decisions (Brown and Cregan, 2008). An inability to influence decisions provides
employees with an opportunity to blame managers for adverse outcomes of change. When employees are involved in making decisions, they not only have a greater say in them but also better understand the rationale for them, thereby resulting in greater motivation and effort (Wagner, Leana, Locke and Schweiger in Brown and Cregan, 2008).
This subparagraph, shortly, described participative management and the importance of participative management. According to the management of the logistic department, this approach fits better with the complex and dynamic environment of company X. It is important, for the managers of the logistic department, to know that the transition from the traditional, hierarchical, authoritative management practice towards a participative approach is not without obstacles. Before the relation between participation within a change process will be discussed, the next subparagraph describes the barriers which can block the initiative and effective use of participative management.
2.1.2 Obstacles within the transition process.
The transition from traditional, hierarchical, authoritative management practice towards a more participative management approach is not without obstacles. There could be barriers, which can block the initiative and effective use of participative management. Some attention will be paid towards these barriers, in order to keep this in mind during the implementation process. When the limitations of this research will be discussed, these possible obstacles within the transition process are taken into account.
Participative management consists of those techniques and practices which increase employee involvement in areas which can improve work practices, managerial decision-making process, and organization performance standards (Gilberg, 1988). Gilberg (1988)argues that despite the increased interest in and potential benefits of participative management, the transition from traditional, top down-oriented management practices is not without obstacles. Four principal types of barriers that can block the initiation and effective use of participative management practices are on organizational level, could be situational, subordinate or managerial barriers. The four types of barriers will be explained shortly.
3) a formal bureaucratic authority structure which is rigidly adhered to; and 4) the lack of an
organizational climate supportive of employee involvement and participation without fear of reprisals. Situational barriers are related to an organizations environment and effectively limit the possibilities of participative management. Certain tasks are accomplished best by a single person working alone while other tasks and decisions are too technical in nature to involve more than those with specialized expertise.
Subordinate barriers exist when employees resist increased participation. Similar to their managers, many employees naturally accept hierarchical authority patterns in which decision making is the sole responsibility of management. They may lack the desire or knowledge and may not feel competent to participate in decision making. Other, especially union employees fear that their effective involvement may lead to changes in the organization of work which are not to their benefit, such as increased work load or even loss of jobs.
And last the managerial barrier. Some of the typical objections of managers to participation are that it decreases their manoeuvrability, leads to loss of control over operations for which they are held accountable, results in decisions which may be of poor quality, can cause disruptive conflict and will take up too much of the manager’s time. Fears of managers towards participation are a loss of power, lack of discipline, and even loss of personal visibility as subordinated help the organization develop better methods of operation and decision making. The study of Gilberg (1988) shows that overall the managerial barrier is low and that most managers are supporters of a participative management approach.
In the next subparagraph attention will be paid towards participation within a change process and its contribution towards change effectiveness.
2.1.3 The relation between participation and change effectiveness.
Before the relation between participation and change effectiveness will be described, it is necessary to define the concept of effectiveness. The Business Dictionary3 explains that effectiveness is the degree to which objectives are achieved and the extent to which targeted problems are solved. In contrast to efficiency, effectiveness is determined without reference to costs and, whereas efficiency means ‘doing the thing right,’ effectiveness means ‘doing the right thing’. When a change is effective the intended objectives are achieved.
According to Elving (2005) common prescriptions for effectively managing change include encouraging participation from as many employees as possible, addressing their concerns in the change program, or ensuring that leaders act as role models for the changes. Participation can contribute to change effectiveness, because the greater extent of participation the more satisfied employees were and the quicker they met new goals (Holt et al., 2007). Employees want to contribute
3 http://www.businessdictionary.com: Online Business Dictionary features over 20,000 terms and over 115,000
to the change and its intended objectives when they feel that they have the opportunity to express an opinion and when they feel that their involvement have some impact (Brown and Cregan, 2008). There are several authors who emphasize that participation and involvement is important for an effective change (e.g. Antoni 2004, Armenakis and Harris 2002, Brent 1997, Elving 2005, Price and Chahal 2006, Vroom 2000). Increasing participation during changes leads to greater commitment to decisions which are taken during the change. Furthermore, participation will lead to motivation to implement decisions effectively (Vroom, 2000). According to Brent (1997) by giving employees criteria for generating input, ensuring employee’s ideas make a significant contribution to the final decision and allowing some degree of choice, managers find that necessary changes are implemented more effectively. Armenakis and Harris (2009:130) argue that “active participation in change efforts by change recipients also enhances valence by allowing them to participate in implementing
difficulties they face and efficiency by allowing them to select changes they feel they can accomplish”. Organizational member involvement and participation are the most commonly mentioned factors for successful change (Porras and Robertson in Antoni, 2004). Members of an organization must be the key source of energy for organizational change process, and that, for this reason, their commitment and involvement is the crucial factor for successful organizational change, according to Beer, Porras and Robertson (in Antoni, 2004). In her study, Antoni (2004:209) concluded that “participation in the change process predicted significantly reported positive change effects on organizational outcomes. These findings support the notion, that it is important to have employees participates in the change process in order to achieve an effective change”.
There are aspects which could increase the level of participation amongst employees. Commitment is an interesting factor for this research, because of the scarce availability of previous research regarding the relation between commitment and participation. Commitment is an important object which contributes to the level of participation (Meyer and Allen, 1991; Porter et al., 1974). More information about this precondition will be given in the next paragraph (§2.2).
2.2 Commitment
In this paragraph the concept of commitment will be described and the relation with participation will be explained in this paragraph. Commitment is since 1974 a more
and more important subject and its Figure 2: Conceptual framework
importance has been highlighted in the work of among others Buchanan (1974), Cook and Wall (1980), and Meyer and Allen (1991). The first sub-paragraph will compare the definitions of
commitment given by other authors. The reasons why commitment is important and the preconditions in order to develop commitment will be discussed. The first sub-paragraph ends with the description what is meant by commitment in this research. The relation between commitment and participation, as assumed in this research, will be explained in the second sub-paragraph. The influence of commitment on participation will be described first and second the influence of commitment to change on
participation will be reviewed. This paragraph ends with the hypothesis which would be tested in this research.
2.2.1 Commitment
As said in the introduction commitment, is an often discussed topic in articles. It is a topic which is very broad and there is no general agreement about the definition. There are several conceptual frameworks in which commitment is conceptualized. Mathews and Shepherd (2002) argue that organizational commitment is a concept that has often been interpreted in different ways. There appears to be considerable confusion and disagreement about what commitment is. There are different concepts of commitment; organizational commitment, job commitment, occupational / career
commitment, goal commitment, commitment to organizational change, commitment to a strategy etcetera. In order to create some structure in the many definitions and explanations a general overview of the definitions of organizational commitment is given in the table below. Some definitions will be discussed further and eventually the definition used in this research will be given.
Table 1: Definitions of organizational commitment
“… the willingness of an employee to exert high levels of effort on behalf of the organization, a strong desire to stay with the organization and an acceptance of its major goals and values.” (Lyman Porter in Buchanan, 1974) “… willingness of social actors to give energy and loyalty to the organization”. (Kantor in Buchanan, 1974) “… is the unwillingness to leave the organization for increments in pay, status, or professional freedom or for greater collegial friendship”. (Hrebiniak and Alluto, 1973)
“… a positive evaluation of the organization and the intention to work toward its goals.” (Sheldon in Buchanan, 1974)
“… the totality of normative pressure to act in a way which meets organizational goals and interests”. (Wiener in Meyer and Herscovitch, 2001)
“…the relative strength of an individual’s identification with and involvement in a particular organization.” (Porter et al., 1974)
“…the psychological attachments felt by the person for the organization; it will reflect the degree to which the individual internalizes or adapts characteristics or perspectives of the organization.” (O’ Reilly and Chatman in Meyer and Hersocovitch, 2001)
“… a psychological state that binds the individual to the organization (i.e. makes turnover less likely).” (Allen and Meyer, 1990)
“… a bond or linking of the individual to the organization.” (Mathieu and Zajac in Meyer and Hersocovitch, 2001)
“… a sense of loyalty to and identification with the organization, the work and the group to which one belongs.” (Nijhof, de Jong and Beukhof, 1998)
“… Committed employees have a strong belief in and acceptance of the organization’s goals and values, show a willingness to exert considerable effort on behalf of the organization. And have a strong desire to maintain membership with the organization.” (Mathews and Shepherd, 2002)
As seen in the table, authors have a lot of different ways to define organizational commitment. There will be more attention paid to the definition given by Buchanan (1972), which is an often used definition by others, the view of Meyer and Allen (1991) on commitment and the definition given by Porter et al., (1974). These definitions and views are often used in other researches and the questions of the questionnaire are based on these definitions. So it is safely to assume that these definitions are a fair representation of what commitment is considered to be in the relevant science field.
The definition of commitment as “the relative strength of an individual’s identification with and involvement in a particular organization” given by Porter et al., (1974:604) is used by many other authors (e.g. Meyer and Allen 1991, Neves and Caetano 2006, Mowday et al., 1979). Such
commitment can generally be characterized by three factors: a) a strong belief in and acceptance of the organization’s goals and values; b) a willingness to exert considerable effort on behalf of the
organization; c) a definite desire to maintain organizational membership (Porter et al., 1974). According to Mowday (1998) there is an overlap in the way that Porter et al., (1974) conceptualized commitment and the later work of Meyer and Allen (1991). Before discussing this overlap, the work of Meyer and Allen (1991) will be reviewed.
affective commitment. In fact, Meyer and Allen (1991) suggest that research using Porter’s Organizational Commitment Questionnaire can be interpreted as reflecting affective commitment. Meyer and Allen (1991) conclude that commitment a) characterized the employees’ relationship with the organization and b) had implications for the decision to continue of discontinue membership in the organization.
Although there are various forms of commitment, this research will emphasize affective commitment. When people are affectively committed, their commitment will result in participation (see paragraph 2.2.2), that is what is assumed in this research and that is why this form of commitment will be further investigated. The conceptual model in this research suggests that commitment will eventually lead to participation. The form of commitment needed for participation is affective
commitment. With affective commitment, an employee wants to be a part of the organization and they will be involved in matters concerning the organization, like a change. Meyer and Allen (1991:67) emphasize that “affective commitment refers to the employee’s emotional attachment to, identification with, and involvement in the organization”. There is also a connection between the view of Porter et al., (1974), Meyer and Allen (1991) and the ideas presented by Buchanan (1974). The concept of organizational commitment refers to a person’s affective reactions to characteristics of his employing organization, argues Cook and Wall (1980). “It is concerned with feelings of attachment to the goals and values of the organization, one’s role in relation to this, and attachment to the organization for its own sake rather than for its strictly instrumental value” (Cook and Wall, 1980:40). Cook and Wall (1940) based their work on the research of Buchanan (1974).
Buchanan (1974) distinguishes three components. The first component is identification with the organization. Identification is focused on the connection and pride employees feel toward their organization, the adaption as one’s own the goals and values of the organization. The second component of commitment is involvement. This is the psychological absorption in the activities of one’s work role. Madsen, Miller and John (2005) argue that involvement encompasses the perceived contribution an employee makes to an organization and how he or she feels about it. It also includes an employee’s effort for the company (beyond personal gain) and his or her willingness to help even if it takes additional time or work. The third component is loyalty. This is the affection for and
Now the definitions of commitment, given by some authors, are described and explained, the reasons why commitment is important and what the preconditions of commitment are, will be described. According to Buchanan (1974) commitment is essential for the survival and effectiveness of organizations, because the fundamental reason is to maintain the organization in a state of health necessary to carry on its work. If employees are committed they create emotional bonds that can make the employee develop a sense of responsibility and duty towards the organization, this bond of
commitment will lead to the desire and intention of continuing the relationship in the future (San Martin, 2008). Because employees want to belong to the organization they want to exert effort on behalf of the organization, this effort contributes to the survival and the effectiveness of organization (Meyer and Allen, 1991). A meta-analysis conducted by Meyer, Stanley, Herscovitch and
Topolnytsky (in Neves and Caetano, 2009) showed that employees with high affective commitment present less turnover and absenteeism perform better in their job, present more organizational citizenship behaviours and show lower levels of stress and work-family conflict, reflecting its importance to the better functioning of the organization.
In order to develop commitment amongst employees there are some preconditions or causes which help employees to develop commitment. Employees who believe that they make significant contributions to the organization and sense that their contributions are appreciated are likely to develop commitment (Buchanan, 1974). In their study, Nijhof et al., (1998) investigated activities to stimulate commitment. According to Nijhof et al., (1998) meetings where employees get information about the organization and stimulation of informal contacts between managers and employees are the two most important activities to stimulate commitment. Social interaction is, according to Buchanan (1974) too, an important predictor of commitment. There should be social interaction with peers or superiors in the workplace in order to develop commitment. San Martin (2005) also emphasizes the interaction aspect. She argues that affective commitment can mainly be reached through interaction between employees and the organization. Exchange of information, flexibility and trust in changing circumstances are important aspects to develop commitment.
The three components distinctions given by Buchanan (1974) are maintained in this research. In this research commitment will be defined as a sense of loyalty to and identification with the organization, the work and the group to which one belongs. This feeling is expressed in the
willingness to invest personal effort as a member of the organization, for the sake of the organization.
2.2.2 The relation between commitment and participation
model commitment will influence participation. In this subparagraph the relation between commitment and participation will be described.
As argued and described in the previous sub-paragraph, “individuals which are highly committed to organization’s goals and willing to devote a great deal of energy toward those ends would be inclined to remain with the organization in an effort to assist in the realization of such highly valued objectives” (Porter et al., 1974:604). The conclusion can be drawn that because individuals are committed to the organization’s goals, they will participate in order to reach those goals. Participation is needed in order to assist in realizing objectives and goals. If employees are actively engaged in order to achieve organization’s goals, they will be interested in the subject, their willing is to be actively involved in thinking about how to reach those goals and they like to contribute where possible (Raes, Heijltjes, Glunk and Roe, 2011). When commitment is high, it is likely that individuals seek interaction with mangers or superiors to provide input. When there is a little or almost no commitment amongst employees, they will see themselves as passive executers of the decisions the top
management takes, and they do not seek much interaction with their managers. They will focus on their own activities rather than to be involved, think or participate about how to reach organization objectives or goals (Guth and MacMillan, 1986) Raes et al., (2011) argue that when employees are interested and committed to the objectives and goals of the organization, they are likely to contribute more information to the interaction with the managers or supervisors because they see the relevance of such contributions for positive organizational outcomes. When employees are committed, they will also be more motivated to discuss and review information that the managers bring in.
Robinson, Perryman and Hayday from the Institute for Employment Studies (in McBain, 2006) have summarized the characteristics of a committed employee. They argue that an committed employee will look for and is given opportunities to improve organizational performance, will be positive about the job and the organization, works actively to make things better, treats others with respect, and helps colleagues to perform more effectively, can be relied upon and goes beyond the requirements of the job. Although it is not mentioned exactly here, there can be said that if employees are committed they are willing to participate in order to achieve organization goals and objectives. This has everything to do with the identification with the organization as described earlier in this paragraph. Identification is the adaption as an employee owns the goals and values of the organization. That is why there can be concluded that when employees are committed they will look for
opportunities to improve organizational performances, it can be argued that committed employees will participate in changes and contribute to the process because they want to improve organizational performances.
too (Meyer and Allen 1991). Employees want to contribute to reach organization’s goals and
objectives. Commitment to change can be defined as “the force (mind-set) (a psychological state) that binds an individual to a course of action deemed necessary for the successful implementation of a change initiative” (Herscovitch and Meyer, 2002:475). Herscovitch and Meyer (2002) explain that this mindset binds an individual to a given course of action and reflects a) a desire to provide support for the change based on a belief in its inherent benefits (affective commitment to change: recognize the benefits of changing) b) a recognition that there are costs associated with failure to provide support for the change (continuance commitment to change: they recognize the risk of not doing so) and c) a sense of obligation to provide support for change (normative commitment to change). There are several authors who argue that commitment of employees is a key to successful implementation of organizational change (e.g. Bennis, 2000; Klein and Sorra, 1996; Meyer, Srinivas, Lal and
Topolnytsky, 2007; Neves and Caetano, 2009). Bennis (2000: 117) argues that “no change can occur without willing and committed followers”. Highly committed employees take part very actively in change processes, bringing new ideas, thinking and discussing change initiatives (Nijhof et al.,1998). Herscovitch and Meyer (2002) argue that the nature of commitment becomes important in explaining employees’ willingness to go beyond these minimum requirements. Employees who believe in the change and want to contribute to its success or who feel a sense of obligation to support the change should be willing to do more than is required of them; even if it involve some personal sacrifices. Iverson (in Su, Baird and Blair, 2009) suggested that employee organizational commitment is one of the most important determinants of employees’ attitudes towards organizational change. Similarly Lau en Woodman (1995) argued that highly committed employees are more likely to accept organizational change as they are more willing to expend more effort to adapt to new situations.
Thus, employee commitment is an important ingredient for organizations in order to survive and become an effective organization. Employees who are committed to organization’s goals are willing to devote a great deal of energy toward those ends would be inclined to remain with the organization in an effort to assist in the realization of such highly valued objectives.
Now the concept of commitment is clear and the relation with participation is explained, the following hypothesis can be drawn.
HYPOTHESIS: Commitment to the organization increases the actual level of participation.
This paragraph described the influence of commitment on participation. In this paragraph the
preconditions for commitment are reviewed, and these preconditions needs more attention in order to see how commitment can be influenced by these concepts. Information, communication and trust, the concepts which will influence commitment, will be discussed in paragraph 2.4, 2.5 and 2.6.
and Cummings 1996; He et al., 2011; Holt, Armenakis, Harris and Field 2007). In this research the concept of support is an important predictor of enhancing the influence of commitment on
participation. In the next paragraph this influence will be reviewed, discussed and explained.
2.3 Support
This paragraph will explain more about the concept of support within this whole research. In the
conceptual model the assumption is
made that support is an important Figure 3: Conceptual framework
aspect in order to enhance the effect of commitment on participation. As explained in the beginning of this chapter the structure of the paragraphs will be the same that is why this paragraph also describes what is meant by support. Different definitions of support given by others authors will be compared, the reasons why support is necessary and the preconditions or how to increase the actual level of support will be discussed. The first-subparagraph ends with the description what is meant by support in this research. The interaction effect of support on the relation between commitment and
participation will be explained in the second sub-paragraph. This paragraph ends with the hypothesis which would be tested in this research.
2.3.1 Support
In order to examine if support enhances the effect of commitment on participation, this sub-paragraph will pay attention to the concept of support. Different authors give their opinion about the subject and made up a definition to capture the concept of support in a few words. The difference will be made between a supportive leader and employee’s perception of support.
and facilitate employee skill development, that is what Deci and Ryan (in Oldham and Cummings, 1996) mean by supportive leadership. Rousseau and Aubé (2010) also argue that support
encompasses, for instance, caring about subordinates, valuing their contributions, helping them on work-related issues, and facilitating their skill development.
Of course supervisors can give support, but employees’ perception of this support can be different. It is therefore important to take into account employees’ perception of support. He et al., (2011:203) define managerial support as “the degree to which employees form general impressions that their managers appreciate their contributions, are supportive and care about subordinates’ well-being”. That is exactly how Eby, Adams, Russell and Gaby (2000) describe perceived support. According to them, perceived support refers to an employee’s perception that the organization cares for his or her well being and is supportive of his or her concerns. Not only employees’ perception that the organization cares about them but also tangible and intangible outcomes through the daily
exchange process plays an role in determining organization support (Self, Armenakis and Schraeder, 2007:215). They define perceived organization support as “the employee’s perception of the
organization’s attitude towards the employee. That perception is developed as the employee experience various tangible and intangible outcomes through the daily exchange process with the organization”.
Now the concept of support is more clear the reasons why support is important will be discussed. Employees are more likely to respond to the initiatives of leaders who care about them as individuals. According to House and Mitchell (in Bommer, Rich and Rubin, 2005) this is especially true when work conditions are stressful, frustrating, or dissatisfying, which is typically the case as employees undergo change. Bommer et al., (2005) argue that by receiving personal support from their leaders, employees are more likely to accept the change message. This acceptance is a key step in influencing whether or not employees believe that the proposed changes will be successful. Supportive leaders behaviour signals the employee that he / she is valued as an individual (Bommer et al., 2005). Social support from co-workers and supervisors can be helpful to an individual attempting to cope with an organizational change that has an impact on his or her daily work life (Wanberg and Banas, 2000). It is important for employees to see that their supervisors are committed and supportive to a change and the success of a change and that an intended change is not going to be another passing fad or program of the month (Armenakis and Harris, 2009).
commitment. Both immediate supervisors and co-workers can provide support that created positive work experiences and that may lead individuals to become affectively tied to the organization. Rousseau and Aubé (2010:323) argue that the “support provided by immediate supervisors and co-workers may increase employees’ comfort within the organization by fulfilling needs for esteem, approval and affiliation”. The perception of organizational support should trigger feelings of affect towards the organization. Strong feelings of affect should make the employee more receptive of organizational goals and objectives (Self et al., 2007). Self et al., (2007) argue that positive feelings about the organization could positively influence employees’ receptivity towards the change initiatives, not only in the early stages of an organization’s efforts to introduce and implement the change initiative, but also during and following the change effort. Management support for positive, proactive change and the acceptance of new ideas assists in reducing the operational pressure or stress of change (Morris III, 1989). Support is an important aspect during changes; Sandler (2006) explains that changes fail because of lack of commitment and support. Because of a lack in support, employees will not embrace the change. Sandler (2006) said that if managers do not inculcate into their hearts and minds that change is good, the efforts to transform will fail. If there is no support during changes, employees do not receive enough feedback, coaching or reinforcement. This can lead to a failure of the change initiative.
Now the reasons why support is important are discussed, the preconditions for support, or what can be done to increase support will be described. Uzzi (2003) argue that it is most important that managers become active participants; otherwise it is unlikely that others will dedicate themselves to change. Managers must continually emphasize the message, that when change is needed, it will provide whatever assistance is required to those who will work hard with such support to implement the change process (Uzzi, 2003). Managers must build context for employees and continually describe the practical benefits delivered by specific changes. Consideration from supervisors is an important aspect for employees in order to become supportive. The concept of consideration would seen to subsume such behaviour as being fair, treating each employee as an individual, listening to employees’ ideas and concerns, recognizing good performance, giving employees explanations for decisions, being aware of employees’ task preferences, asking employees for advice (participation) and so forth (Locke, Schweiger and Latham, 1986). It is important that management should support the change during the whole process. Sometimes managements, once they have delegated the change task to the implementation team, stand back and fail to support the process. This is dangerous and could cause the whole process to fail (Price and Chahal, 2006). A positive, assertive, confident style of management regarding the change will create a good example for the rest of the staff.
two groups. In order to learn more about the interaction effect of support on commitment and participation, a closer look to the theory about this subject will be paid in sub-paragraph 2.3.2.
2.3.2 The interaction effect of support on commitment and participation
As should be obvious now, management’s support to change is an important aspect during changes, because if managers lack confidence of faith in a new policy and do not make sure their employees follow the policy, it will not be accepted and the old, more comfortable way will continue used
(Morris III, 1989). Employee’s relationships at work are also connected to readiness for organizational change. This means that positive feelings, attitudes and perceptions of workplace peers, subordinates and even superiors may facilitate an environment more conducive to individual willingness and openness for organizational change involvement and supportiveness (Madsen et al., 2005). According to Bommer et al., (2005) receiving personal support form their leaders, employees are more likely to accept the change message. This acceptance is a key step in influencing whether or not employees believe that the proposed changes will be successful.
As already reasoned in the previous sub-paragraph support contribute to the level of commitment, but there is no research done so far to the interaction effect of support on the relation between commitment and participation. This interaction effect will be examined in this study. In the conceptual model the interaction effect of support on the relation between commitment and
participation is supposed, according to the literature support has a significant effect on commitment (e.g. He et al., 2011, Grant et al., 2008, Rhoades and Eisenberger 2002, Rousseau and Aubé 2010), because the level of commitment will influence participation, it could be that the three concepts are related. This leads to the following hypothesis:
HYPOTHESIS: Support enhances the impact of commitment on participation.
The paragraphs so far contribute to the ultimate purpose of this research, which is participation during changes. The preconditions of commitment will be further discussed, as mentioned is paragraph 2.2. These preconditions will be discussed in the following paragraphs.
2.4 Information
The fourth paragraph will describe the function of
information during changes. The reasons why information is
important during changes and the Figure 4: Conceptual framework
which should be met in changing situations. As the framework shows it is assumed that information will influence commitment; the second sub-paragraph will explain the relationship between
information and commitment. The influence of information on commitment will be explained first and second the influence of the quality of information will be described. At the end of this paragraph the hypothesis which would be tested in this research is presented.
2.4.1 Information
Paragraph four, five and six of chapter two are closely related. Communication is needed to share the information relating to the change. In this research both subjects will be discussed separately, because there is a difference between the extent and the content of the information and the way information is spread and shared. Information and trust are also closely related; because employees’ perception of information is also based on the trust employees have in their manager of supervisor.
Francis (1989) explained the function of information in a change process. The function of information is to inform the employees about changes and in what way these changes will influence employees’ tasks and jobs. Cross (2001) also suggested that one of the first steps in a change process is to explain to employees why change is necessary, this means give information about the change and explain with this information why there will be a change. Wanberg and Banas (2000) emphasize the importance of information. Information about changes that will occur and how these changes will affect the organization is necessary. According to Elving (2005) information is vital, especially when organizational change is about how to change the individual tasks of employees. It may be impossible to meet everyone’s information needs, but it is important to keep the employees continually informed about new developments within the organization, otherwise consequences if information is not provided, described further on, will arise.
Different authors (eg. Elving, 2005; Lewis, Schmisseur, Stephens and Weir, 2006; Qian and Daniels, 2008) describe in their researches requirements of information. Elving (2005) mentioned three requirements: first of all, the information given by the organization about the change should address the reasons to change and the possible worries employees initially will have. Second, if managers like to achieve commitment and cooperation with the change, information should be on time. The last requirement according to Elving (2005), the given information should be understandable and contain no errors. Lewis et al., (2006) advise openness and wide dispersal of information.
That brings us to the consequences if information is not provided and why information is important during changes. Bennebroek Gravenhorst, Elving and Werkman (2005) argue that employees need to be informed about the reasons for change, the goals and the plans for implementation, otherwise uncertainty exist. Without adequate information, individuals will be uncertain about what specific changes will occur, how a given change will affect their jobs and organization or how to respond to a change (Milliken, 1987). Uncertainty will exist when employees are not informed about the change. People do not want to cooperate if they do not know (enough) what is going on. The information about the change should take away the anxiety employees will have. The ultimate result, if employees are not informed (enough), is resistance to the intended change.
Employees need to know the what’s, why’s, how’s and when’s of change (Cross, 2001). According to Cross (2001) employees want to know what is expected of them and how a manger of direct
supervisor helps them meet those expectations. Miller and Monge (in Wanberg and Banas, 2000:133) stated that “to improve attitudes toward a given change, information received about organizational change helps the reduce employee anxiety and uncertainty”. With change comes uncertainty and people start to worry about their jobs. Although uncertainty is not a research object it is a factor to take into account, because uncertainty and job insecurity leads to a decrease in commitment (Greenhalgh and Rosenblatt, 1984; Ugboro, 2003). This research investigated subjects which directly influence commitment. Information, communication and trust are subjects which decrease the amount of uncertainty, that is why attention is paid toward these subjects (Allen, Jimmieson, Bordia & Irmer, 2007; Jimmieson, Terry and Callan, 2004).
The above mentioned reasons emphasize the importance of information during times of change. The idea of keeping the flow of information going throughout the change process is a constant message in the above mentioned articles. In this research there will be attention paid towards the information provided to employees. The information should try to answer the possible questions which will arise. The information should be on time, understandable and contain no errors. Everyone should have the same access to the change information and the perception of the employees about the information provided in changing situations will be also investigated in this research.
2.4.2 The relation between information and commitment
This subparagraph will describe the relation between information and commitment. In this research it is assumed that information will have a positive influence on commitment.
DeCotiis and Summers (1987) argue that there is evidence that information provided by the management affects commitment. Employees were strongly committed if they obtained adequate information to perform their task (Postmes, Tanis and De Wit, 2001). Smidts et al., (2001:1052) also argues that “adequate information about an organization strengthens identification with the
Smidts et al., 2001:1053) argues “that employees’ receiving useful and sufficient information about what is expected of them in their work and regarding their contributions will increase their
understanding of the norms and values of respected membership”. Such information will enhance members’ sense of belonging to and involvement with the organization. Being well informed about organizational issues (such as goals and objectives) will enable an organizations member to discover the salient characteristics that distinguish the organization from others. Smidts et al., (2001) argue that repeated exposure to information about the organization may increase its perceived attractiveness and may thus reassure members that they work for an organization that is worth being associated with. They based this argument on the research of Zajonc (1980). Zajonc (1980:160) explains the repeated exposure, as he calls it ‘mere exposure effect’ and its perceived attractiveness from a psychological point of view. Providing information can help reduce uncertainty and anxiety which exist during change processes and can ultimately contribute to creating increased openness towards the change (Van Dam, Oreg and Schyns, 2008).
Besides the described requirements mentioned in the first sub-paragraph (the information should be on time, understandable, contain no errors and everyone should have the same access to the information) there is another important requirement if information is shared: the quality of
information. Qian and Daniels (2008:322) suggest that “cognitively perceived high quality of information might provide the rationale for change and encourage cooperation with the change”. When individuals perceive information as being high in quality, they tend to develop positive attitudes toward change. High levels of information adequacy and quality is associated with positive work related attitudes, such as openness to change (Qian and Daniels, 2008). The experienced quality of information is hard to measure. This research tries to measure the quality of the information, as perceived by the employees, which is given by the organization, in order to see of the quality of the information actual contribute to the level of commitment. What is meant by the quality of information is the amount of information, sufficiency of the information, access to the information, information containing no errors, information which is understandable, actual etcetera. This criteria of the quality of information is defined by Qian and Daniels (2008), which will be used in this research, see paragraph 3.2. All the above mentioned arguments suggest the following hypothesis.
HYPOTHESIS: Information about a change, perceived by employees as qualitative information, increases the actual level of commitment.
2.5 Communication Now the relation between information and commitment is described and explained in the fourth paragraph, this paragraph will describe the role of
communication inside a change
process and its influence on Figure 5: Conceptual framework
commitment. The first sub-paragraph will describe the function of communication, the reasons why communication is necessary and the consequences if there is no communication. The first sub-paragraph ends with the description what is meant by communication in this research. The relation between communication and commitment, as assumed in this research, will be explained in the second sub-paragraph. The influence of communication on commitment will be explained first and second the influence of (immediate) supervisors’ communication on commitment will be described. At the end of this paragraph the hypothesis which would be tested in this research is presented.
2.5.1 Communication
Several authors emphasize the importance of communication in organizations especially during a change (eg. Armenakis and Harris, 2002; Elving 2005; Lewis et al., 2006). The information given by the organisation usually comes from management as the sender and with the employees as the receiver of information. In this sense, common communicational theories of sender, message, channel, receiver and noise could be applied to this communication (Elving, 2005). In this research it is assumed that the reader is familiar with the communicational theories and how communication works.
means adjusting to different goals, tasks, people and situations, and the competent communicator makes these adjustments in an appropriate way (Salem, 2008).
Now it is explained what organizational communication is and what is meant by
communication competences, the reasons why communication is important during change will be described. According to Daly, Teague and Kitchen (2003:160) it is “vital to communicate the rationale for change, to communicate what the change is all about, to talk about the impact it will have on people, if this is not possible the change program will not work”. Change takes people out of their comfort zones so the first reaction is at least strong curiosity as to what the change is all about or even irritation (D’Aprix and Gay, 2006). When people are in their comfort zone, they feel in control of their lives and work. According to Craine (2007) people are generally happy and comfortable with the way things are. When changes arise, employees would want answers to questions like: What is this all about, what are the causes and how does this affect me? There should be answers to these questions, if there are no answers rumours will exist (D’Aprix and Gay, 2006). Employees do not know what the change is all about and uncertainty leads to rumours. Uncertainty is associated with change.
Uncertainty, which organizational members feel when they are involved in a change, are e.g. the possibility of job losses, the fear of losing status and power within the organization, and the
uncertainty about whether they will fit in the changed organization (Dent and Goldberg in Van Vuuren and Elving, 2008). If managers frame the motives for change it helps to reduce uncertainty, in that sense effective communication is important. If employees are not informed about change, they try to find information in order to reduce their uncertainty. Any information may be used for framing, regardless the source of this information. Uncertainty is not further investigated in this research but is, in my opinion, also an important aspect in the process of change. The reason why uncertainty is not a part of this investigation is because the investigated objects (information, communication and trust), directly influence the level of commitment (see paragraph 2.2) and thereby contribute to the actual level of participation are investigated. Uncertainty does not contribute immediately to the actual level of commitment. That is why the consequence when there is not enough information, communication and trust (uncertainty) is described, but not further investigated in this research. This could be investigated in continuation of this research.
and endlessly repeated it is according to research (D’Aprix and Gay, 2006; Klein, 1996) important that the communication should be executed by supervisors or managers. Communication by leaders is most effective according to D’Aprix and Gay (2006). People expect to be informed by their immediate supervisors or boss when important, official information should be communicated (Klein, 1996). Employees must have the feeling that the management team has a clear vision and that the communication is open and honest (Proctor and Doukakis, 2003).
Communication and interaction between managers and employees is needed for change to take place (Bennebroek Gravenhorst et al., 2005). Bennebroek Gravenhorst et al., (2005) emphasize that employees and managers can discuss the practical consequences and efforts necessary for realizing the change best when they communicate face-to-face in order to prevent misunderstandings. There are different communication channels which can be used in order to communicate the change message. An organization could use the web, communicate per paper or communicate face-to-face. A mix of diverse communication channels is useful during changes. Organisations have a wide range of formal and informal channels for communication, they should use all of these like newsletters, team briefings, news on companies’ website, emails, hall meetings etcetera. Burnes (2004: 480) gives a rule of thumb, as he stated that “whilst people are often willing to believe the wildest rumour from unofficial sources, anything from management has to be stated at least six times in six different ways before people start giving it credence”.
The reason to communicate can be summarized, according to De Ridder (2004), in two goals. The first goal is to inform the employees about their tasks, about the policy and other issues of the organization, like changes. The second goal is communication with a mean to create a community within the organization. De Ridder (2004) explains that communication to create a community results in trust in the organization and management, commitment to and identification with the organization. Change will disrupt organizational identities, and members want to know that they will become, and what the unit, division or organization will become. Without communication that builds global and shared identification, members will resort to the older more local and independent identities (Salem, 2008). Proctor and Doukakis (2003) also suggest that communication is needed to achieve
commitment. According to them commitment to change can be achieved “by helping people develop a shared diagnosis of what is wrong in an organization and what can and must be improved”(Proctor and Doukakis, 2003:275). Communication is the key word to achieve such a diagnosis.
In this research effective communication is defined as communication, perceived by employees, which should be open, honest and transparent. Supervisors should give accurate information; the message should be consistent and clear. Management should use as much
