Organizational Change: Impact of Employee Turnover - Thesis Proposal Example

?Running Head: Research Proposal Research Proposal [Institute’s Research Proposal Introduction It is an observation that the most constant thing in the world is change, especially after globalization, one can observe huge amount of alterations around the world, and the corporate world is not away from it as well (Graham, 1982). One can witness huge developments and advancements in the field of information and technology that have resulted in changes in organizations globally. In addition, experts (Cranny et al., 1992) have identified that organizations that accept the change have been able to come up as successful ones in the marketplace. In other words, organizational change has now become a notion of success in the corporate world. In particular, organizations are nowadays frequently changing their processes and structures due to a number of factors, such as geographical extension, new product/service in the range, introduction of new technology, strategic alterations, downsizing, etc. However, recently after global recession, downsizing has become one of the most common forms of organizational change that has emerged as a tool of reducing costs and increasing costs for organizations to survive in this competitive world. On one hand, organizational change in the form of downsizing and thus structural changes have enabled organizations to survive; however, on the other hand, there have been huge number of instances regarding their adverse impact on employee performance and thus, employee satisfaction. The proposed research is an attempt to look into the same issue. Research Statement In this regard, the researcher will endeavor on the following research statement to fulfill the aims and objectives of the proposed research: “To identify and analyze the impact of organizational change (employee turnover/employee survivor stress) on organizational frustration and stress levels” Objectives The major aims and objectives of the proposed research are to: Recognize and analyze impact of different change processes on employees in organizations Scrutinize the degree of impact of employee turnover on employees’ performance and whether such impact result in reduction of motivation or not Evaluate the psychological impact of employee turnover in terms of stress and frustration levels in the organizations Literature Review Analysis of the literature (Dess & Shaw, 2001) has indicated that in this era of globalization, organizational change has now become a regular process, and managers are now confronting huge difficulties in handling and managing their employees in different changing processes. In the result, organizations are nowadays facing huge levels of stress and frustration that is subsequently causing an adverse impact on organizational success as well (Dawson, 1994). As indicated earlier, layoffs or downsizing is one of the most common forms of organizational changes that affect not only the laid-off employees; however, leave an unpleasant effect on the employees who survive during this change process. In particular, experts (Senior & Swailes, 2010) have indicated mixed responses in employees that survive downsizing in the organizations. For instance, during a study, few employees showed feelings of relief due to their survival; however, at the same time, they showed huge levels of stress, as they felt sad while losing their colleagues. In addition, few employees even showed feelings of guilt as they felt like taking their friends/colleagues/co-workers’ jobs or seats. In this regard, it is very imperative that before any change process, management should put efforts to prepare the employees in the most effective manner while ensuring their efficient handling during and after the process. As experts (Grieves, 2010) have indicated that stress and frustration levels of employees varied significantly in cases, where management was effective and where it was not. It is now almost impossible for organizations to avoid change. Thus, it is very important now that management should endeavor to bring the change in the most pleasant manner, in order to avoid any chances of increment in the levels of organizational frustration that will subsequently lead to organizational failure (Fisher & Locke, 1992). Few experts have identified that organizations with huge employee turnovers are more likely to receive employees that are already insecure due to higher levels of stress in existing employees and workers. In such a situation, organizational leadership (Kuriger, 2008) can play a significant and crucial role to avoid negative impact of the organizational change while putting efforts to present company as respecting and appreciating hard work, performance, and loyalty. In other words, it is very important that organizations bring change always in accordance with goal, vision, and mission of the organization, as it is an observation that in order to minimize costs, companies often end up with the process of downsizing while ignoring the vision and mission (Cummings & Worley, 2008). Another important factor identified in literature (Yaeger et al., 2006) is the tool of communication that enjoys significance when it comes to organizational change. Organizational change, such as downsizing cannot completely avoid any adverse impact, and thus, effective communication can be the best approach in minimizing the stressful impact of the change. It is an understanding that organizations usually carry out a change to bring positivity in the company; however, they usually confront contradictory outcomes due to lack of communication between managers and the workers. In this regard, effective communication can change the feeling of distrust, anger, insecurity into loyalty, higher performance, etc. Scrutiny of the literature (Leban et al., 2010) identified various examples of organizations that carried out changes in their companies effectively. For instance, HP is one of the successful companies who have been involved in the process of downsizing after the global recession and statistics have indicated downsizing of approximately 10,000 employees by the year 2010; however, the company has carried out the process of change in a smart manner. Some of the major factors of its successful change processes were detailed planning, effective communication, and successful execution while taking workers on board rather than considering them as employees (Senior & Swailes, 2010). In this regard, it is anticipation that proposed study will fill the gaps that will enable a comprehensive understanding of various issues related to the process of organizational change and its impact on levels of organizational frustration and stress. Methodology Specifically, the proposed research will be using a quantitative approach to analyze the data. In addition, it is an observation that various researchers have carried out studies in the same area that will be very significant for creating basis for the proposed research. Thus, secondary research methodology will enable the researcher in acquiring quality information related to the impact of organizational change, and particularly, downsizing and structural changes on employee performance and frustration levels. However, in order to acquire most relevant data in relation to the identified research statement, the researcher will be putting efforts to carry out primary research methodology with the tools of questionnaires and surveys that will focus 532 members of the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification residing in the states of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Moreover, the researcher will be utilizing the Organizational Frustration Scale as survey instrument to acquire accurate results. In this regard, the proposed research will acquire data based on the quantitative methodology while considering the following: Moderate Effect Size 0.5 Significance Level 0.05 Power 0.95 Minimum Number of Participants 210 Sample 532 Population Members of the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification Research Questions and Hypotheses Based on the proposed problem and purpose of this study, the following research questions will guide the investigation: RQ1. What is the relationship between (organizational change) downsizing experiences and employees’ frustration levels? H1N. There is no statistically significant relationship between employee downsizing/turnover (organizational change) and employees’ frustration levels. H1A. There is a statistically significant relationship between employee downsizing/turnover (organizational change) and employees’ frustration levels. RQ2. What is the relationship between the level of organizational frustration and employee perception of job satisfaction? H2N. There is no statistically significant relationship between the level of workplace frustration and employee perception of job satisfaction. H2A. There is a statistically significant relationship between the level of workplace frustration and employee perception of job satisfaction. Timeline # Task Name Date Date Date Date Date Date Date Date Date Date 1 Theoretical Framework 1st week 2 Compliance of Proposal 2nd week 3 Secondary Research 3-4th week 4 Analysis of Data 5-6th week 5 Primary Research 7-9th week 6 Distribution of Questionnaires 10th week 7 Collection of Questionnaires 12th week 8 Analysis 13-15th week 9 Rough Draft of Dissertation 16-18th week 10 Final Submission 19th week References Cranny, J., Smith, P. & Stone, E. P. (1992). Job satisfaction: How people feel about their jobs and how it affects their performance. New York: Lexington Books. Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2008). Organization development & change. New York: Cengage Learning. Dawson, P. (1994). Organizational change: a processual approach. P. California: Chapman. Dess, G. D., & Shaw, J. D. (2001). “Voluntary turnover, social capital, and organizational performance.” Academy of Management Review. Volume 26, pp. 446-457. Fisher, C., & Locke, B.A. (1992). Job satisfaction: How people feel about their jobs and how it affects their performance. New York: Lexington Books. Graham, G. H. (1982). Understanding human relations: The individual, organizations, and management. Science Research Associates, Chicago Inc. Grieves, J. (2010). Organizational change: themes & issues. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Kuriger, C. C. (2008). Organizational Change: Case Studies in the Real World. New York: Universal Publishers. Leban, B., Klein, A., & Stone, R. A. (2010). Managing Organizational Change. California: John Wiley & Sons. Senior, B., & Swailes, S. (2010). Organizational Change. Toronto: Pearson Education Canada. Yaeger, T. F., Head, T. C., & Sorensen, P. F. (2006). Global Organization Development - Managing Unprecedented Change. London: IAP. Read More