Background: A nexus between the individual practice of mindfulness and sustainable behaviours has recently been unearthed all the while existing research tackling this connection on an organisational level is close to non-existing. Even so, corporate mindfulness has been object of extensive research in the past decades confirming increases in organisational and employee wellbeing. Given the need for sustainable development in contemporary society and for businesses to embrace this responsibility, the potential of such a connection is remarkable. Purpose: This thesis aims to explore the nexus between corporate mindfulness and the adoption of sustainability practices and the facilitation of change processes in business. Method: The study follows an interpretivist approach and is based on two cases, which are analysed and compared. Qualitative semi-structured interviews with open questions are conducted. Particular attention is given to the quality of the data and the ethical considerations accompanying the data collection. Findings: The findings present the interconnection of corporate mindfulness, sustainability adoption and organisational change. This is graphically represented in the Mindfulness-Sustainability Nexus Model (MSNM). Respondents, being mindfulness practitioners, acknowledge the overarching inability to ignore the sustainability challenge and the organisational impact on present and future generations. Moreover, intrinsic values get to the surface, both at the individual and organisational level, which are essential for long-tern sustainability practices. With the CBMT, old organisational structures are perceived as outdated and are remodelled as a result. Ultimately, in this research, the role of stakeholder engagement as well as a culture of openness are essential to embrace changes and to enhance sustainability.

Organisationsförändringar kan medföra risker som innefattar oro, stress och konflikter inom verksamheten. Det är inte ovanligt att ledningen förväntar sig att verksamheten ska fungera som den alltid gjort samtidigt som genomförandearbetet läggs på medarbetarna. Risken finns att en organisationsförändring kan ge konsekvenser som innebär att folk säger upp sig. Denna kandidatuppsats syftar till att ta reda på hur omorganisationen av polismyndigheten som genomfördes den 1 Januari 2015 upplevs av poliser i den ingripande verksamheten. Vi vill skapa förståelse för hur polisens arbete har påverkats i och med organisationsförändringen. Det som gör vår studie unik och egen är att den på ett nyanserat sätt belyser nya aspekter av omorganisationen ur en sociologisk synvinkel, med fokus på polisernas egna känslor och upplevelser. Teorierna vi valt att utgå ifrån behandlar organisationsförändring ur ett strukturellt perspektiv men även på individnivå. Organisationsmodellerna Lean Production, Den byråkratiska organisationsformen och Organisationsförändringsteorin har vi valt att tillämpa för att skapa förståelse för hur poliserna upplever omorganisationens verksamhetsidé i praktiken. Vi har även använt oss av teorierna Alienation och Erkännande för att få en djupare förståelse för hur poliserna upplever att omorganisationen har påverkat deras arbete och arbetsvillkor. Vår sociologiska analys kommer grunda sig i samtliga teorier, vetenskapliga artiklar och den empiriska sammanställningen genom en utförlig diskussion i förhållande till varandra.  Vi har använt oss av ett kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt där den empiriska datan samlades in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Den insamlade empirin tillsammans med med våra teoretiska utgångspunkter lade grunden för vår analys samt avslutande reflektioner och slutsatser. Slutsatsen vi kunde dra utifrån polisernas upplevelser av omorganisationen är att det var brist på kommunikation och information under reformens genomförande, vilket i sin tur skapade motstånd och friktioner i relation till polisernas försämrade arbetsvillkor. / Unsuccessful organizational changes can imply risks that include anxiety, stress and conflicts within the agency. While the management expects the agency to function as it always has, it is not uncommon for the implementation work to be imposed on the employees. Therefore, there is a risk that organizational changes can have consequences that results in people resigning. This bachelor's thesis aims to examine how the reorganization of the Swedish police which implemented on January 1, 2015 is experienced by cops in Intervention activities. Furthermore, we also intended to create an understanding for how police work has been affected by this particular organizational change. What makes our study unique is that it in a nuanced way highlights new aspects of the reorganization from a sociological approach directed on the police officers own emotions and experiences related to the organizational change. The theories we have chosen to start from deal with organizational change from a structural perspective, but also at the individual level. The organizational models Lean Production, The Bureaucratic organizational form and The organizational change theory we have chosen to apply to create an understanding of how the police experience the reorganization's business idea in practice. We have also used the theories Alienation and The struggle to Recognition to gain a deeper understanding of how the police experience that the reorganization has affected their work and working conditions. Our sociological analysis will be based on all theories, scientific articles and the empirical compilation through a detailed discussion in relation to each other. Our study had been based on a qualitative approach through which we collected the empirical data by semi-structured interviews. The collected empirics, associated with our theoretical basis, formed the foundation for our analysis as well as our concluding reflections and conclusions. The most comprehensive conclusion we can compose from the police officers personal experiences of the reorganization, is that there was a deficient communication and information related to the reform that constituted resistance and frictions within the agency.

Drawing upon punctuated equilibrium theory, stakeholder salience theory and status quo bias theory, this research develops a framework for dealing with organisational change recipients’ resistance to change. Due to the effects on the organisational environment of political, legal, and technological triggers, organisations need to change in order to survive, remain competitive and prosper. However, deploying a given organisational change, and in particular radical change, is challenging for change managers. A major reason for this is change recipients’ resistance to change. Therefore, this research advances understanding of how to cope with change recipients’ resistance in times of organisational change, and specifically radical planned change i.e. reorientation. To do so, this research develops a framework that incorporates the salience level of change recipients in relation to reorientation program, which has not been considered in prior studies, in association with the modes and causes of their resistance to change to identify relevant strategies that address their resistance to change. The research methodology adopted for the research is qualitative case study. The findings are derived from 30 semi-structured interviews along with relevant documents from two cases (14 interviews from Case A and 16 interviews from Case B) that implemented an organisational reorientation program. The findings reveal that the three attributes of stakeholder salience theory (i.e. power, legitimacy, and urgency) are inadequate to identify the salience of change recipients in relation to change. In addition to these attributes, a further attribute is required, which defines the extent to which change recipients are affected by change namely the attribute of impact. Furthermore, the findings introduce seven strategies (negotiation and agreement, education, implicit coercion, persuasion by peers, two-way communication, facilitation, and rewards) that are effective for overcoming the resistance to change of recipients who belong to six salience classes and resist change for different reasons and to various levels. These findings make a theoretical contribution to each of the theories employed in the research, punctuated equilibrium theory, stakeholder salience theory, and status quo bias theory, as well as the extant literature regarding strategies to cope with change recipients’ resistance to change. The findings have implications for practice by introducing a diagnostic tool that change managers can use to explore the modes and causes of change recipients’ resistance as well as their levels of salience in relation to change.

This thesis presents an interpretive case study of a Malaysian Government-linked Company (GLC) namely Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) which has recently implemented a business reengineering programme. This change programme was imposed by MAHB's parent company as part of a wider government reform agenda to address GLCs' 'underperformance' post-privatisation. Since long-term business value has become an increasingly important goal, MAHB has attempted to enhance its performance through various change initiatives which have led to institutional change. The thesis analyses the role of situational logics in the context of this institutional change, drawing on the situated logics perspective developed by ter Bogt and Scapens (2014), together with insights from the institutional logics and practice variations literature. Using semi-structured interviews, documentary analysis and observation, the study provides a comparative analysis of three subsidiaries and their relationship with the Finance Division's accounting change. The thesis recognises there are diverse situational logics that different groups of organisational actors apply in their day-to-day activities and change initiatives, emerging from a complex interplay of contextual and historical forces. This recognition enables us to understand how the three subsidiaries and the Finance Division of MAHB have differently interpreted the notion of performance improvement by applying these diverse situational logics. It sheds light on the issue of how accounting change can give rise to different responses. While the different responses present a theoretical puzzle-why there are different responses to accounting change-this thesis delineates how situational logics shape organisational responses by relating them to the underlying taken-for-granted assumptions of different groups of organisational actors. The thesis shows that the existence of diverse (or rather multiple) situational logics has led to multiple responses from different groups of organisational actors in the different parts of MAHB. The thesis also shows how multiple situational logics can co-exist or conflict and how this is contingent upon the compatibility and/or incompatibility of different interests at the intra-organisational level. Issues concerning multiple changes and multiple responses to institutional pressures, competing interests between public service and profitability, and the interplay of acceptance and resistance are all discussed in the thesis. Using the situational logics perspective, the thesis contributes to understanding the complexity of the ongoing processes of both the organisational change and accounting change at the intra-organisational level. This perspective enables us to understand the different courses of action and practices within the different parts of MAHB due to their situated functionalities. The thesis concludes by discussing the implications of the research findings and possible directions for future research.

This thesis contributes to the academic knowledge in the field of professional identity and organisational change. This thesis also has a practical implication as the findings helped to shape an organisational change within the co-funders organisation. The research was guided by the wish to explore the extent to which professional identity affects the willingness of those within Primary healthcare Units to accept fundamental changes in their working practices. Specifically, the aim was to establish the relationship of professional identity to processes of change. As the owners of small businesses who contract their services to the Health Board, the opinions of General Practitioners (GPs) were deemed to be of particular interest. The study was undertaken using a mixed method design, based upon a Constructivist grounded theory methodology. This was chosen as the ideal vehicle to examine the complex nature of identity within healthcare professionals and how they viewed organisational changes. Research started with unstructured interviews (n-14) and the analysis of the data obtained was fed into a questionnaire (n-97). The questionnaire offered validation of the initial findings. The findings of the research showed that professional identity has a bearing on the willingness of professionals to accept changes to their working environment. The resistance demonstrated by Healthcare staff, and specifically, GPs, to organisational change could be linked to feeling a perceived threat to their professional identity. Therefore, to undertake a successful organisational change, change managers must recognise that identity is vitally important and can affect the success or failure of an organisational change. Consideration of how any change may be perceived by professionals, within an identity context, must be built into the organisational change programme and revisited regularly during the change programme.

AIM - To explore the perspectives of service users and professional staff towards service user involvement within the context of a changing cultural environment at a UK hospice. METHOD - Case study and thematic analysis including interviews with 16 staff including the CEO and 6 service users at a UK hospice. FINDINGS - Three overarching themes were identified: involvement and disempowerment in decision-making; belonging and alienation in a period of organisational change; struggle to maintain wellbeing and identity in a changing culture. A key finding is that service users receiving care from the hospice wanted their voices to be heard, valued and respected for their personal care and issues affecting the hospice. Service users did not consider it a burden to be asked for their views. They felt disempowered by a consultation process about organisational changes that appeared not to take their views on board. There is a need to consider whether a reliance on surveys for involving service users is sufficient or can become tokenistic. External social-political-economic pressures plus increasing privatisation of public services could influence the way that hospices operate in future. This could involve moving from a sanctuary to a business culture and potentially towards managerialism by adopting a regulatory rather than rights-based approach with an emphasis on increasing reach, measuring numbers and hitting targets. Service users being viewed as consumers with a focus on reablement/rehabilitation activities and less on psychosocial support could also serve to push hospices to start behaving more like hospitals. CONCLUSION - More qualitative research is needed to ensure the voices of service users living with a life-limiting illness are heard. The contributions they make towards co-production of services and research should also be heard and influence practice and policy. Service users should also be more involved in education and training of staff.

The case study examines the outcomes of a process of re-structuring, renewal and cultural change in a school undergoing transformation from a senior high school to a middle school. The research investigates the impact of school improvement initiatives on the school and classroom culture and learning environment after 12 to 18 months of reform implementation.The research approach is a developmental mixed method investigation utilising quantitative and qualitative data collection procedures. The study proceeded through two stages: Quantitative surveying of students and parents prior to the implementation of school improvement initiatives; and quantitative and qualitative surveying of students and parents after 12 and 18 months, respectively, of reform implementation and application of the treatment.Evidence of change in the college and classroom culture and learning environment was evident after twelve months. The case study identified that students and parents identified changes in a number of elements of the classroom culture and learning environment. These included improvements in home-school communications, involvement in classroom planning and organization, relationships between teachers and students, school culture and evidence of pedagogical change. The research also identified that change had not occurred in the attainment of student learning outcomes, educational values and parent confidence to assist students in their learning.It became apparent that change in the organisational culture had occurred within the first 12 to 18 months. However, change to the deeper cultural dimensions of educational values and student learning outcomes were less in evidence.

This research investigates the relevance of professional subcultures in a climate of change at a large hospital in South-Western Sydney and addresses the question : 'How do changes associated with health reform impact upon cultural interdependence between professional identities?'. As a corollary, cultural interdependence between professional identities may have profound consequences for health reform and for hospital management. By exploring the two main ideas, Professional Sub-group culture and change, this research draws from existing theory in areas such as organisational culture and cultural change, professional identities and health reform. The thesis addresses three anthropological perspectives of cultural change. It addresses the integration perspective as a homogenous unity by analysing the organisation-wide key ideas (or myths) that make action possible, often espoused by senior management. It addresses the fragmentation perspective as a gathering of transient concerns, by acknowledging the ambiguity and anxiety associated with a state of constant flux. It analyses the differentiation perspective as a collection of subcultures and its commonalities and differences. The change discussed in the thesis was not of an archetypal nature. There was no transformation of the organisational business model at government level. However, at lower levels, actors in the organisation experienced jolts through decreed change from a small district level hospital to a large tertiary level trauma centre. This research re-evaluates the theory on professional identity by establishing to what extent environmental changes and organisational changes impact upon professional identity from three cultural perspectives. This research does this by first assessing the health care organisation for existence of occupational subcultures through survey. The research continues by investigating the relationships between occupational groups through focus group discussion and in-depth interviews. Participant observation is used to illustrate and reflect commonality and diversity. This combination of methods facilitates the analysis of change and professional identity / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This thesis uses a cultural perspective to explore the working life of employees in a government office during the 1980s. During that period three significant changes took place - in the promotion system, in management recruitment and policies, and in the introduction of computer technology. In comparing and contrasting these changes with past practices, we gain an understanding of the relationship between organisational culture and organisational change.

This thesis tested an appraisal, coping and adaptation model of job insecurity and organisational change with a sample of police officers. The model integrated key aspects of Lazarus' (1991a, 1999) cognitive-motivational-relational theory of emotion (personal coping resources, appraisal questions, emotion, coping and adaptation outcomes) with the ten job characteristics (opportunity for control, opportunity for skill use, externally generated goals, variety, environmental clarity, availability of money, physical security, opportunity for interpersonal contact, valued social position and supportive supervision) from Warr's (1987, 1999) vitamin model. The ten job characteristics were viewed as valued aspects of the environment that may potentially be lost or threatened during organisational crisis or change. The service within which the police officers worked underwent a large scale organisational restructuring from late 2001 to July 2002. Three research studies were conducted for this thesis. The first study developed a psychometrically sound, 40-item job characteristics scale, based on the ten dimensions of Warr's vitamin model. This scale assessed participants' worries about changes to aspects in their work environment. The development of this scale met a need within the job insecurity literature for a theoretically-derived measure of valued job features, and enabled the investigation of the appraisal, coping and adaptation model. This measure was included in the questionnaire for the cross-sectional and longitudinal studies that formed the second and third major research projects of this thesis. The main aim of the second study was to test a proposed model of appraisal, emotion, coping and adaptation following the experience of organisational change. The model proposed that person variables and personal coping resources (e.g., personal control and coping self-efficacy) would have indirect associations with the adaptational outcomes of Psychological Distress, Life Satisfaction and Job Withdrawal Behaviour. The personal coping resources were proposed to have indirect relationships with coping strategies through job characteristics, appraisal and emotion as well as direct associations with levels of distress, Life Satisfaction and Job Withdrawal Behaviour. The ten job characteristics were expected to have a direct relationship with Psychological Distress, and indirect associations with the three adaptational outcomes through appraisal, emotion and coping. Primary and secondary appraisal was proposed to precede and directly influence emotion. In turn, emotions were expected to directly relate to the coping strategies that were used, with coping strategies mediating the association between emotion and the three adaptational outcomes. An additional focus of this study was to determine whether there were mean differences for males and females on the variables examined. The second study was conducted in November 2002, three months after the restructuring. Two thousand two hundred and eighteen police officers were invited to participate in the study, with a total sample of 303 police officers responding. The antecedent variables (personal resources, job characteristics, perception of global job insecurity, appraisal components, feelings, coping strategies) and the indicators of employee adjustment (Psychological Distress, Life Satisfaction and Job Withdrawal Behaviour) were collected via a self-report questionnaire. Collateral data were also obtained from a friend, spouse/partner or work colleague of the police officer for the dependent variables of Psychological Distress and Life Satisfaction. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were applied to investigate the aims of this study. Some support for a partial mediating model was obtained, mainly with the work specific adaptational outcomes of Psychological Distress and Job Withdrawal Behaviour. The antecedent variables in the model explained a substantial amount of variance for each of the adaptation outcomes. Notably, the antecedents of the model to uniquely account for variance in Life Satisfaction, a non-work contextual outcome, were person variables and personal coping resources. The third research study used a two-wave longitudinal panel design. The principle aim of this study was to test the proposed model of appraisal, coping and adaptation, longitudinally. Specifically, the aim was to examine whether initial levels, and changes in levels over time in aspects of the proposed model predicted later levels, and changes across time in the adaptational outcomes of Psychological Distress, Life Satisfaction and Job Withdrawal Behaviour. The study was conducted in April and May, four to five months after the T1 data had been collected, and seven months after the restructuring. A total of 158 police officers responded from the 303 that participated in Study 2. Difference scores were calculated to examine change across time within hierarchical multiple regression analyses. Three longitudinal regression models (Basic, Change-in-Outcome and Change/Change) were examined to test for robust effects. The model explained considerably more variance in Psychological Distress across all three longitudinal models tested, compared to Life Satisfaction and Job Withdrawal Behaviour. Generally the work related antecedents (T1) had no or minimal association with change in Life Satisfaction. However, change in physical safety was associated with change in Life Satisfaction across the two points in time. Some robust associations were found for emotion coping strategies with Psychological Distress; personal control with Life Satisfaction; and negative feelings with Job Withdrawal Behaviour. The findings from the three studies are discussed with reference to Lazarus' (1991a, 1999) cognitive-motivational-relational theory and Warr's (1987, 1999) vitamin model. The findings from the cross-sectional and longitudinal research studies support partial mediating relationships among the antecedents with the adaptational outcomes. There is debate within the job insecurity literature as to whether potential loss of job features should be included in the definition and operationalisation of this construct. Based on the results of the research, it is recommended that the definition and operationalisation of job insecurity include potential loss of job features and potential loss of the job. The model tested accounted for more variance in the work specific outcomes of Psychological Distress and Job Withdrawal Behaviour than Life Satisfaction. Thus, the organisational restructuring appeared to have a greater association with work-specific outcomes rather than non-work outcomes. Some limitations of the research are noted. For example, the small sample size limited the ability to use latent variable model testing procedures. Second, the conclusions from the research studies are applicable to a police service organisation and thus may be limited in their application to employees in other organisations. Third, the model focused quite heavily on the individual within the organisation, examining personal resources and characteristics. Nonetheless, this research has contributed to the literature in several ways by: (a) developing a theoretically founded measure of valued job characteristics, (b) demonstrating the importance of evaluating changes to these features of the work environment and the potential loss of the job during organisational instability, and (c) testing an appraisal, coping and adaptation model that shows much promise for use within organisations undergoing crisis or change. This newly developed and tested model appears especially useful in understanding the impact of organisation changes on work related outcomes.