A Strategic Framework for Managing Transformational Change towards Sustainability - Literature review Example

ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITIES AND CHANGE SUMMARY OF THESIS FINDINGS Student’s Name: Code + Course name Professor’s name University City, State Date Thesis 1: The research by McCafferty (2014), aimed at understanding the use of current literature and models on change management in understanding the responses of organizations towards health policy changes. The need for the research emanated from the numerous changes and reforms in the health policy of the UK that had prevented, halted, or diverted organizational strategies. The research questions used include: What factors influence how healthcare organizations manage policy changes in commissioning? How do individuals in healthcare organizations perceive and respond to commissioning policy? The two main objectives of the research were To determine and critique change management approaches associated with health and business services in research literature. To examine the context of the organization during the policy change period with the objective of identifying staff response to the new policy initiatives. The research adopted a qualitative case study to explore the responses of commissioning organizations towards health policy changes. The data collection methods employed by the research were observations, analysis of documents, and in-depth interviews. The research used thematic analysis to analyze the data collected during the study. In the analysis, the research identified common concepts and themes. The findings of the study revealed that the participants did not consider the proposed WCC program to be remarkable. Some of the resistance drivers indicated by the resistant were the consideration of the program to be an increase in their workload and inadequate resources necessary for implementing the program (McCafferty 2014). Thesis 2: The study conducted by Taha (2014), aimed at exploring efforts to conjoin organizational capabilities and efforts in the explanation of sustainable competitive advantage. The significance of the research emanated from the need for firms to attain legitimization by conforming to industry requirements and the crucial role played by resource optimization towards implementing organizational change on the road towards sustainable competitive advantage. The research aimed at developing a scale that measures individual receptivity factors. The other objectives of the research included the identification of the relationship that exists between receptivity factors and environmental uncertainty, and determining the relationship between performance, competitive advantage, and receptivity factors. The research entailed the use of sequential qualitative-quantitative studies in a mixed method approach to identify a reliable, valid, and robust ORC scale. The research subjected the information gathered from literature reviews and interviews to confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to attain normological, discriminant, and convergent validities. The first phase of the study entailed conducting semi-structured interviews on managers and hotel owners. In the second phase, the study collected data from employees of public and private sectors as well as MBA students. In the final phase, the study collected data from hotel managers. The study findings revealed that there was a strong positive correlation between competitive advantage and receptivity factors, as well as between organization performance and receptivity factors (Taha 2014). Thesis 3: The study topic of the thesis by Joris (2014), was Leading Change in Public Organizations. The specific study area was the role played by leadership in implementing organizational change from the context of the public sector. The main research question was To what extent and how does leadership affect the implementation of organizational change and its outcomes, given the specific context of public organizations? The objectives of the research were To explore the role of leadership in implementing organizational change in public organizations To contextualize change leadership in public organizations To test to what extent and how leadership affects the outcomes of organizational change The research employed a case study design because of the great heterogeneity that exists between organizational change cases in public organizations. The research entailed the use of four studies. In the first and second studies, the research interviewed managers and conducted co-variational analysis to determine the strategic orientation of the City Works Department (CWD) and the merger process. In the third and fourth studies, the research employed a quantitative survey of the employees to determine the organizational changes in urban Rotterdam. The findings of the research indicated the existence of a strong positive correlation between the transformational leadership role played by supervisors and the affective commitment to change exhibited by the employees (Joris 2014). Thesis 4: In the quest to conduct a study on strategic capability development, the research by Kashan & Reza (2014), conducted a multi-level case study analysis of the role played by knowledge integration in product innovation. The two main research objectives were To determine the roles played by knowledge integration in the development of organizational capability in the product innovation context To identify the mechanics of which knowledge integration contributes to the process and content of capability development. The associated research questions were How do firms develop strategic capability based on the knowledge integration dynamics within the product innovation context? What is the influence of organizational capability development on the management of knowledge integration in different product innovation projects? The research employed an explorative case study to determine the impacts of the knowledge integration dynamics across the varied product innovation projects on the development of existing capabilities. The first phase of the study entailed the use of interviews to gather data on the reciprocity between knowledge integration and capability development. The research also used secondary data sources and interviews to collect data about the organizational level factors that influenced the development of existing capabilities. The research employed a multi-layer analysis to analyze the collected data. The findings of the study identified dynamic capability, absorptive capacity, knowledge integration, innovation strategy, and industry architecture as the determinants of organizational capability for change (Kashan & Reza 2014). Thesis 5: The study topic of the research by Mourfield (2014) was Organizational Change: A Guide to Bringing Everyone on Board. The two main research objectives used in the study were: To determine the proper ways of changing the attitudes of employees and managers in preparing them for change To identify the existing change models. Based on the objectives, the research questions were as follows What are the proper ways of changing the attitudes of employees and managers in their preparedness for the change? What are the existing change models? The study entailed collecting data from the Google and Yahoo search engines as well as secondary data from published reference materials in the library. The researcher then interviewed respondents that were employees of Raytheon Defense. The findings of the study reiterated the crucial role that communication plays in bringing everyone on board in the implementation of organizational change. The findings also revealed that the positive influence of the management or leadership is also detrimental towards ensuring the smooth implementation of the change. From the interviews, it was evident that trusting the strategic decisions implemented by the management or leadership is crucial towards preventing incidences of change resistance (Mourfield 2014). Thesis 6: The study by Shebli (2016), aimed at identifying a strategic framework for managing transformational change in attaining sustainability in the Abu Dhabi public sector organization. The two main research objectives employed in the study were To develop and validate a strategic framework in the management of sustainable transformational change To conduct a critical appraisal and documentation of the degree to which key sustainability initiatives contribute towards organizational competitiveness The two main research questions were What are the impacts of the effective implementation of sustainability drivers on organizational competitiveness? What are the current sustainability initiatives employed by the Abu Dhabi public sector organization that are essential in implementing change? The research employed a qualitative approach in the data collection process to collect data from 60 respondents from the senior, management, and operational levels. The study interviewed 20 respondents from each level. The study audio-recorded and transcribed the interviews. In the quest to analyze data, the research employed content analysis. The findings of the study revealed ten sustainability initiatives implemented in the Abu Dhabi public sector organization. The initiatives were community engagement, safety, wellbeing and health, resources efficiency, sustainable transport, sustainable procurement, change management, green technology, specialized knowledge creation, incentive systems, and embedded culture. The findings also identified positive reputation of the organization, improved employee satisfaction, and improved cost savings as the impacts of the effective implementation of sustainability drivers on organizational competitiveness (Shebli 2016). Thesis 7: The purpose of the research by Apostolou (2014), was to explore the role played by organizational learning in change and stability patterns and the manifestation of organizational learning in the context of an organization. The two main research objectives of the study were To understand the aspect of organizational learning by exploring its impact on change patterns, stability and its subsequent involvement in organizational transformation To explore organizational learning processes through practices and routines using Gidden’s Structuration Theory and single-case study methodology The main research question in the study was What is the role played by organizational learning in organizational stability and change behavior? The study employed a single case study methodology to identify the correlation between organizational learning and change behavior and stability of an aerospace organization. The study triangulated data collected from documents and interviews in the quest to answer the research question. The findings of the study revealed the role played by organizational learning as a constant force in the entire life of an organization. The research also found out that a common objective is the building block for a common activity that fuels organizational learning. The study also identified the role played by creative conflicts in generating outcomes, actions, and ideas. Finally, the study also identified interpretations and acting on the interpretations as the drivers of contextual knowledge (Apostolou, 2014). Thesis 8: The purpose of the study by Chowdhury (2014) was to determine the impact of leadership styles employee commitment and motivation. The objectives of the study were as follows To evaluate the impact of transformational leadership styles on the level of employee commitment and motivation To examine the impact of transactional leadership styles on the level of employee commitment and motivation To assess the impact of Laissez Faire leadership styles on the level of employee commitment and motivation The research questions used in the study were What is the extent of employee commitment to their organizations? What are the effects of the leadership styles adopted by the manager on employee commitment and motivation? Is there a difference in the level of employee commitment and motivation based on job-related and demographic variables? The research targeted 650 full-time employees from Operations and support functions in Mumbai, Kolkata, Navi Mumbai, and Delhi. The study used questionnaires in the data collection process by administering questionnaires to the target respondents via the email and HR functions of their organizations. The study employed both survey research and correlational research to yield quantitative information. The study used the organizational commitment questionnaire (OCQ) to measure the level of employee commitment to their organizations. The study used a work motivation scale comprising of 10 items to determine the levels of employee motivation. The identification of the leadership styles was made possible with the use of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ). The findings of the study revealed that both transformational and transactional styles of leadership have a significant effect on employee motivation and commitment. However, the Laissez-faire style has a negative correlation with employee motivation and commitment (Chowdhury 2014). Thesis 9: The research by Arefina (2015) examines the international organizational change phenomenon by using a cultural perspective to explore the influence of the national context on organizational change. The main research question is as stated below What is the influence of the culture of a nation on organizational change? The other research questions include What are the specific challenges and success factors associated with implementing change in alien cultural environments? What are the critical areas associated with the change implementation process in relation to the national cultural idiosyncrasies? The research objectives were as follows To understand the influence of national cultural values on change perceptions held by organizational members, including its execution process To reveal and explain the boundary conditions of change approaches in a manner that is culturally sensitive The research targeted two national groups. As a result, the data collection process entailed administering questionnaires to the two national groups and the use of Mayring’s content analysis. The use of the approach enabled the identification of the dual holistic framework of success factors and challenges associated with change implementation concerning the Russian national context. The findings of the study revealed that change leadership plays a significant role in the change implementation process by influencing employee mobilization and knowledge transfer (Arefina 2015). Thesis 10: The area of focus of the study by Helmut (2014), is the conception and implementation of shared services within large-scale firms in Germany. The main research objective is to develop an integrated, structured, and empirically founded model for realizing shared services based on theoretical concepts. The research questions used in the study include Which aspects determine the performance of support functions within an organization? What is the efficient way of structuring and organizing shared services? What is the proper way of relocating people and processes within a shared service organization? What is the proper way of managing and controlling a shared service organization? The study targeted 500 large-scale enterprises, 25 consulting companies, and 133 higher learning institutions. The study involved the use of experts in shared services to interview the respondent firms. The findings of the study revealed that firms that implemented shared services aimed at reducing costs, improving on the quality of services and products, enhancing the value of the processes output, concentrating on core competencies, establishing internal customer-supplier relationships, and enhancing the service attitude. The findings also revealed risks associated with the implementation of shared services such as escalating and unexpected costs, unbalanced power concentrations, low employee morale, and ineffective communication that had the impact of delaying the project. From the findings, it is clear that resources, people, and infrastructure have an impact on organizational change (Helmut 2014). Organizational Capacity versus Organizational Capability Capability is a faculty, process, or feature that is subject to improvement. As a result, organizational capability refers to the available systems and processes that an organization can deploy or the individual competencies that the organization can exploit or apply to realize an objective. In essence, organizational capability entails the ease with which an organization can access, apply, or deploy the competencies that it requires. On the other hand, capacity refers to the power to receive, hold, or accommodate. Capacity refers to the “volume” or “amount”. On the part of the organization, organizational capacity refers to whether the firm has enough resources or not (Vincent 2008). In the event that the organization does not have adequate resources to realize an objective, the proper question to ask is “How much more do we need?” As a result, there are instances where an organization could have adequate capabilities but lack the capacity to realize an objective. Reference List Al Shebli, A., 2016. A strategic framework for managing transformational change towards sustainability in the Abu Dhabi public sector organisation (Doctoral dissertation). Apostolou, K., 2014. Role of organisational learning in maintaining a stable context for transformation: the case of a Scottish SME. Arefina, A., 2015. National Cultural Context of Organizational Change: Implementation of Change Initiatives of Multinational Corporations in their Russian Subsidiaries (Doctoral dissertation, University of St. Gallen). Chowdhury, R.G., 2014. A Study on the Impact of Leadership Styles on Employee Motivation and Commitment: An Empirical Study of Selected Organizations in Corporate Sector. Helmut, W.M., 2014. Four-Phase-Model for the Implementation of Shared Services. Joris, V., 2014. Leading Change in Public Organizations: A study about the role of leadership in the implementation of organizational change in a public sector context. Kashan, J. and Reza, A., 2014. Strategic capability development: a multi-level case study of the role of knowledge integration within product innovation (Doctoral dissertation, Queensland University of Technology). McCafferty, S., 2014. Managing change: using organisational change theory to understand organisational responses to health policy: a case study in commissioning. Mourfield, R., 2014. Organizational Change: A Guide to Bringing Everyone on Board. Management. Taha, A., 2014. Organisational receptivity for change: combining context and capability to explain competitive advantage (Doctoral dissertation, Aston University). Vincent, L., 2008. Differentiating competence, capability and capacity. Innovating Perspectives, 16(3), pp.1-2. Read More