The telling of violence : organizational change and atrocity tales

This paper explores the retrospective construction of atrocity narratives of organizational change in primary industries of the Latrobe Valley, located in southeast Australia. Within their narratives, participants discuss various forms of workplace violence aimed at employees by management and, in some cases, other employees. In addition, shifting narratives from violence to resignation are explored. As all participants are no longer employed in the organizations described in the narratives, causal associations between workplace violence and resignation choices are of particular interest. In this context, atrocity narratives are presented in a deliberate effort to extend the theorizing of organizational change into domains that are neither attractive nor progressive.

Organizational change in the public sector: augmenting the demand control model to predict employee outcomes under New Public Management

This study identifies the environmental and personal characteristics that predict employee outcomes within an Australian public sector organization that had, under New Public Management (NPM), implemented a variety of practices traditionally found in the private sector. These are more results-oriented, and their adoption can be accompanied by increased strain for employees. The current investigation was guided by two complementary theories, the Demand Control Support (DCS) model and Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, and sought to examine the benefits of building on the DCS to include both situation-specific stressors and internal coping resources. Survey responses from 1,155 employees were analysed. The hierarchical regression analyses indicated that both external and employee-centred variables made significant contributions to variations in psychological health, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. The external resources, work based support and, to a lesser extent, job control, predicted relatively large proportions of the variance in the target variables. The situation-specific stressors, particularly those involving harmful management practices (e.g., insufficient time to do job as well as you would like, lack of recognition for good work), made significant contributions to the outcome measures and generally supported the process of augmenting the generic components of the DCS with more situation-specific variables. In terms of internal resources, problem and emotion-based coping improved the capacity of the model to predict psychological health. The results suggest that the impact of NPM can be ameliorated by incorporating the dimensions of the augmented DCS and coping resources into the change programme.

Performing and reforming leaders : gender, educational restructuring, and organizational change

Performing and Reforming Leaders critically analyzes how women negotiate the dilemmas they face in leadership and managerial roles in Australian schools, universities, and continuing education. The authors examine how new managerialism and markets in education transformed how academics and teachers did their work, and in turn changed the nature of educational leadership in ways that were dissonant with the leadership practices and values women brought to the job.

Conversion stories as shifting narratives of organizational change

This paper is concerned with how employees talk about their experiences of organizational change and focuses specifically on the construction of conversion stories. These are particularly positive narratives that consider change as a turning point in which individuals depart from an old way of life pre-change to embrace a post-change organization. In this study, employees seek conversion into management groups and report the values and philosophies of management in their narratives, thus highlighting the benefits of change while suppressing any negative aspects. This paper draws attention to the dramatic nature of the conversion story and explores the sharp distinction between the reporting of experiences prior to and after change. We also investigate the relationship between constructing conversion stories and gaining personal and career advancement at work and suggest that beneath the positive exterior of the conversion narratives lies a theme of silence, which may be related to career advancement. Our findings suggest that such stories of silence complicate the conversion story as an example of positive organizational change and discuss implications for both the theory and practice of narrative change research.

Strategies for successfully executing and institutionalising organisational change : a comparative study

This study examines the nature of change confronting organisations in Australia in the 1990s. Its aim is to investigate organisational strategies for managing the challenge of deliberate large-scale change, and to consider whether there is a 'critical change path' which every organisation must follow if it is to succeed in executing and institutionalising corporate-wide transformation. The research was conducted by carrying out in-depth case studies of three multinational companies operating in Australia. The case studies show a consistent pattern of corporate transformation in which companies adopt a range of strategies to implement and sustain effective change. These include fostering a climate for change; providing a clear vision for the future; promoting strong leadership; communicating the message for change consistently and repeatedly to all levels of the organisation; reinforcing the message through rewards and symbols; and ensuring change is institutionalised by promoting a capacity for continual adaptation and learning. These observations suggest that the pattern of corporate transformation can be depicted as a framework of steps which organisations must follow to enhance their prospects of institutionalising behavioural change. In this framework, the steps towards change are not uni-directional; they overlap and reinforce each other and should be revisited regularly to reinvigorate the message and sustain the momentum for change.

Lost in translation? Emotional intelligence, affective economies, leadership and organizational change

Not until the late 1990s did the rational/emotional binary embedded in mainstream literature on educational leadership and management come under challenge. Now the emotional dimensions of organisational change and leadership are widely recognised in the leadership, organisational change and school improvement literature. However, the dissolution of the binary did not draw from feminist social theory, critical organisational theory, the sociology of emotions or critical pedagogy. Instead, the strongest influence in educational leadership and administration has been from psychological theory, management theory and brain science, mobilised particularly through Goleman's notion of emotional intelligence. This article undertakes a feminist deconstruction of two texts: one from organisational theory by Goleman and the other on educational leadership and school improvement, in order to explore how ‘emotion’ has been translated into educational leadership. As a counterpoint, I identify the gaps and silences, appropriations and marginalisation identified from feminist perspectives. I argue that the emotional labour of teaching and leading cannot be individualised because emotion is both relational and contextual.

A Response to Critique of the Refreeze Step in Lewin’s Model of Organizational Change from the Viewpoint of Organizational Behavior

Problem Statement
This paper responds to criticism of Kurt Lewin’s three step model of organizational change in increasingly turbulent environments. It explores whether the refreeze step of Kurt Lewin’s notable three step model is still applicable to organizational change processes in the age of globalisation and digitalisation.

Method
Literature review and critical analysis of applied examples are used to provide an overview of Kurt Lewin’s three-step change model. Authors’ observations and reflections are integrated in the discussion. The changing contemporary environment and the implications for the refreeze step of Lewin’s model are accordingly discussed.

Conclusions
The paper concludes that a balance of stability and movement; of discrete and emergent change; is the reality for today’s organizations, and forms the touchstone for Lewin’s formulation of change theories. Alignment is observed between notions of desired equilibrium in Lewin’s model and the contemporary underpinnings of sustainability. Technology and the modern pace of organizational change are also factors to consider. There has hence been an adaptation of his theoretical heritage that is current and sufficiently robust to withstand the criticisms of the refreeze stage.

In their own hands: can young people change Australia?

In Their Own Hands: Can young people change Australia? documents and celebrates young people’s active participation in social, political and civic life and describes the many ways in which they are leading vital social change. At the same time, it critically examines the barriers to this participation and questions the degree to which the voice of young people is genuinely valued in Australia.Young people are often characterised as disengaged and apathetic. This book challenges that view while providing a set of needed signposts for change at the level of core social institutions and processes. The book draws on the work of The Foundation for Young Australians and its legacy of significant research into the education, wellbeing and participation of young Australians. It also draws on the expertise of renowned commentators in youth research, policy and practice.

Forms of organising

The study investigated trends in forms of organising in Australian companies between 2000 and 2004. Dual forms of organising emerged as the preferred response to environmental turbulence. A dualities aware perspective was proposed, offering the potential to maintain traditional accountability and control while adopting more flexible, responsive forms of organising.

Fresh kids: the efficacy of a health promoting schools approach to increasing consumption of fruit and water in Australia

The Fresh Kids programme utilized the Health Promoting Schools (HPSs) framework to design a whole-of-school, multifaceted intervention targeting specific behaviours to promote healthy eating and reduce the risk factors associated with childhood obesity. The aim of the programme was to evaluate the effectiveness of the HPS framework to increase fruit and water consumption among primary school-aged children over a 2-year period. The study design was an interrupted time series. Four primary schools in the inner west of Melbourne, Australia, participated in the programme intervention. Baseline data were collected using a lunch box audit to assess the frequency of children with fresh fruit, water and sweet drinks, either brought from home or selected from canteen lunch orders. The lunch box audit was repeated periodically for up to 2 years following programme implementation to assess the sustainability of dietary changes. Across all participating schools, significant increases between 25 and 50% were observed in the proportion of children bringing fresh fruit. Similarly, all schools recorded increases between 15 and 60% in the proportion of students bringing filled water bottles to school and reductions between 8 and 38% in the proportion of children bringing sweet drinks. These significant changes in dietary patterns were sustained for up to 2 years following programme implementation. Targeting key nutrition behaviours and using the HPS framework is an effective and simple approach which could be readily implemented in similar childhood settings. Effective strategies include facilitating organizational change within the school; integrating curriculum activities; formalizing school policy and establishing project partnerships with local community nutrition and dietetic services.