Organizational Development and Change

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It gives me great pleasure to express my gratitude towards my professor who has also been my mentor. My professor has always been a source of confidence for me. Here I also want to express my gratitude towards my mother and my father who have always shown belief in me. My entire family, including my mother, fathers, sister and brother, all have continuously supported my throughout my life and my academic career. I would also like to express my gratitude towards my University and my Department, including the supervisors, faculty members and peers, for their continuous support during my research study.

DECLARATION

The content mentioned within this thesis/dissertation is my own work and opinions and does not provide opinions of any other individual or entity. I would also like to declare that this thesis/dissertation has not been submitted or published previously.

ABSTRACT

Change in an organization may also occur during the life cycle of an organization where a business is evolving successfully just like people evolve through human life cycles. It is imperative for an organization to go through significant amount of change at different points in its life cycle for successful development. For this reason, organizational change and organizational development are becoming much research topics in the field of business, management, leadership and communication within an organization. Managers and leaders of an organization are continuously making efforts to undergo significant amount of change successfully as part of their job descriptions. Some managers and leaders are good at initiating the change process in the organizations whereas others may struggle or fail in their change efforts. There are many schools or institutions providing academic programs regarding business, organizations, management and leadership. Sadly, there are still not enough institutions with academic programs that help in analyzing the identity of an organization and addressing the critically significant priorities including systematic issues or pre-defined visions for change initiative and addressing significant and successful change initiatives addressing those significant priorities. The purpose of this study is to analyse the process of organizational development during the organizational change initiative and the role of leaders and managers in communicating and implementing change throughout the organization.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the Study1

Company Overview7

Research Objectives9

Research Questions10

The Purpose of the Study10

Significance of the Study13

Structure of the thesis15

Chapter 1: Introduction15

Chapter 2: Literature Review15

Chapter 3: Methodology15

Chapter 4: Analysis and Discussion16

Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendation16

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW18

Definition of Organizational Development18

Organizational Development and Change20

Managing the process of organizational development27

Definition of Organizational Change27

Initiating Organizational Change31

Organizational Dynamics of Change32

Organizational Readiness for Change34

Leadership36

Assessment of the Business Environment37

Acceptance of Change37

Motivational Readiness37

Communication38

Culture38

Role of Managers during Organizational Change38

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY41

Research Design42

Research Method43

Sampling and Data Collection44

Questionnaire Design44

Variables Studied46

Likert scale46

Data Analysis47

Ethical Considerations47

CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION48

Communication48

Leadership52

Organizational Culture55

Management Practices58

Acceptance62

Vision for Change64

Organizational Development and Change Interventions66

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION71

Conclusion72

Future Research Implications75

REFERENCES77

APPENDIX82

Appendix A: Definition of Terms82

Appendix B: Letter of Permission84

Appendix C: Consent form85

Appendix D: Likert Scale Questionnaire Survey86

Demographic Information86

Organizational readiness for change Questionnaire87

Appendix E: Tables91

Appendix F: Charts97

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Organizational development and change is a field of business which has been studied by many ...