Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 356-374). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Case Western Reserve University, 2009 / Title from PDF (viewed on 19 August 2009) Department of Organizational Behavior Includes abstract Includes bibliographical references Available online via the OhioLINK ETD Center

Thesis (PhD.) -- Bond University, 2007. / "A research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy"-- t.p. Bibliography: leaves 116-131. Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 356-374). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Benedictine University, 2005. / Chair: Peter Sorensen. Includes bibliographical references (p. 294-298)

Thesis (Ph.D.)--York University, 200?. Graduate Programme in Administration. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 400-416). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNR11562

The aim of the research reported in this thesis was to explore the nature and impact of anxiety in Senior Management teams confronted by organisational change. There was a desire to move beyond an understanding of management from a tactical, systems or organizing perspective, to one which investigated the causes and reaction to emotion, in particular anxiety, and the implications for managers, groups and organizations. The research was limited to a focus on the causes, manifestations and exploration of individual and group anxiety. The studies reported in this thesis have addressed two main research questions. First, what is the nature and impact of anxiety in senior management teams? Second, what are the effects of anxiety on learning and change within these teams? A multiple case study approach was used because this was seen as particularly beneficial for exploring the nature and impact of anxiety in senior management teams across a number of organizations. The nature of exploration necessitated an approach that was not bounded by a reliance on theories embedded in positivist approaches to scientific understanding, but rather required the development of individual and participatory group experiences through interpretation and constructivist enquiry. Participants represented the senior management groups of each company and thus represented the controlling interests of the local businesses. There was evidence that participants in the study were experiencing anxiety during heightened periods of business change. The studies revealed how responses to anxiety resulted in a number of social defences against anxiety. The studies indicated that perceptions of environmental emotional safety and identity with a leader affected the ability of managers to engage in reflective behaviours and collaborative approaches. Power and politics emerged as themes in the studies, with individuals struggling at times with notions of control, individual authority and understanding of the boundaries of power between participants. There were also implications for the impact of bounded rationality and learning acceptance. The thesis is seen as a potential contribution towards a deeper understanding of a little researched area of anxiety in individual managers and in management groups, and the impact of anxiety on learning and change at individual, group and organizational levels. Thus, it may offer opportunities to contribute to a deeper understanding of the links between anxiety, learning and change on aspects of management and organizational learning. Developing a deeper understanding of the practice of management and its impact on the organization has the potential to assist the development of learning pathways which encounter these phenomena and engage with them in a didactic way by way of a point of optimal learning. The Point of Optimal Learning is introduced in the literature review of the thesis where a potential gap in existing knowledge is identified. In this thesis it is proposed that there exists an opportunity in the learning of individuals to manage the tension between rational and emotional responses to events, creating moments of optimal learning as rational and emotional responses are kept in balance. The interpretations emanating from how individual managers within senior management teams deal with change, and the implementation of collective awareness, has the potential to contribute towards an integrated understanding of the implementation and outcomes of organizational change. It is suggested that the exploration of such phenomena as group trust and openness; personal and institutional change; and confrontation of the inhibitors to change whether consciously or unconsciously constructed, have the potential to support a learning methodology which has implications for other organizations at a time of change. By exploring the causes of individual and organization resistance to change encountered in this research, practitioners may evolve an approach which builds upon the areas of understanding developed herein. During the analysis phase of the research herein reported, three new models for interpreting the data, and a diagrammatic summary of the causes of management anxiety considered in the research, were developed and presented. They are: the anxiety causation diagram that informed the structured interview design; he models developed for the purposes of data analysis and that were seen to extend prior models; and the development of a triangulation model that was seen to extend understanding beyond individual case phenomena. These models may be seen as contributing to different methodological approaches for future research, and thus may be seen to make a significant contribution to knowledge. The conclusion to the thesis discusses the implications for the action researcher, organizations and participants undergoing significant periods of change, and provides suggestions for further research.

Micro-consultants are from small independent consultancy practices; who sometimes work directly with a single client on embedded assignments. Embedded microconsultants operate within the ambiguous and fragmented environments of their client’s. Micro-consultants have to quickly make sense of their client’s working environments; adapting their operations and identities within these, to ensure appropriate advice and support is provided. When embedded, micro-consultants are usually expected to represent their client; whilst also retaining their independence. Consequently, micro-consultants can sometimes be unsure who they represent (themselves or their client) and which identity aspects they should be promoting. Identity is the sum of, lifestyle, experiences and knowledge of an individual which is developed over time, and provides awareness and guidance for future activities. To some extent micro-consultants can choose which aspects of their identity they wish to promote or suppress. However, some groups can enforce aspects of their identity on their members which can contradict the micro-consultant’s base awareness and guidelines which can lead to dilemmas and uncertainties. This research explores the interactions, changing identities and ensuing tensions of a micro-consultant during a long term embedded assignment with a single client. The ethnographic study uses authoethnographic narrative, along with participant observation techniques and reflective practices, to provide insights on the key influences and other factors which can affect micro-consultant identities. This thesis also provides an indication of the complexities and ambiguities faced by a micro-consultant working on an embedded assignment. The research also highlights some of the many dilemmas and uncertainties facing a micro-consultant in this environment; focussing on identity related dilemmas. These lead to a number of identity related paradoxes for the micro-consultant; including assignment success, relationships and the provision of knowledge. There have been many corporate ethnographic studies examining different parts of organisation behaviour, including consultancy houses and organisation change environments. However, this is the first study to provide detailed insights into the world of a micro-consultant change management specialist, his operations interactions and dilemmas; providing a significant contribution to the world of management consultancy and organisation behaviour.

The theoretical underpinning of Human Resource Management assumes the existence of individual motivation, which can be manipulated or managed in a way that enables organisational objectives to be achieved with the compliance and commitment of the individual worker. However, the increasing incidence of mergers, takeovers and reengineering has imposed on the individuals caught up in it change and challenge, which leaves even those retaining their employment doubtful of the benefits of HRM proclaimed by employers. Job insecurity has been well researched by those who wish to examine how enforced change affects the survivors both within the organisation and those who move on to alternative employment elsewhere. Charting the change undergone by individuals suffering such enforced change at work has traditionally involved attempts to measure the antecedents of change and correlating it to the consequences of the change. In this way the effects of imposed change on individuals can be linked to organisational consequences like intention to leave or job satisfaction. The present research allows individuals to reflect on their own confirmed and disconfirmed expectancies following the experience of enforced change at work. It allows them to examine what assumptions they had about their employer's behaviour during enforced change and how far they have accepted or rejected the legitimacy of that behaviour. For each of them this has involved interpreting events occurring during enforced change. Such interpretation may reinforce the meaning of work and its inherent value or threaten continued belief in the value of employers' promises of employment and career development. Identifying expectancies enables the researcher to examine the different responses to questions of attribution, self-sufficiency and the traditional elements of loyalty and trust together with the individual's assessment of how he or she would respond to a repeat of such enforced change. The conclusions of the present research indicate that individuals who maintain traditional beliefs of loyalty and trust are more likely to experience alienation than those who evince an independence who seek to use working experience to gain more knowledge and skill and so increase their own employability. The future dependence of employers on traditional promises of career development and life long learning would seem to have been circumscribed by the many individuals whose experience of enforced change has convinced them they need to take ownership of their own destiny in which different employers will play but a fleeting part.

“Intrapreneurship is not a choice, it is the only survival attitude” (Pinchot, 2000, p.75). In 1985 Pinchot coined the term ‘intrapreneurship’, short for intra-corporate entrepreneurship, which describes the practice of entrepreneurship within organisations. Intrapreneurship is increasingly becoming a term used in the business world to describe organisations that are willing to pursue opportunities, initiate actions, and emphasise new, innovative products or services. Due to the dynamic nature of modern organisations, it is imperative that organisations and their managers remain receptive to new ideas, approaches and attitudes. It is therefore the belief that rapid and cost-effective innovation is the primary source of lasting competitive advantage in the twenty-first century, leaving organisations no alternative but to become intrapreneurial or cease to exist. This thesis focuses on this need and examines ways in which intrapreneurship can be measured in organisations in order to provide a benchmark for further organisational development. A questionnaire (known as the Intrapreneurial Intensity Index) was designed and distributed to a sample of 500 employees working in large South African organisations, which classified themselves as ‘forward-thinking’ and aimed for an intrapreneurial ‘type of thinking’. The results obtained from these questionnaires underwent item analysis, after which the questionnaire was redesigned in an electronic format. A pilot case study was then conducted in order to test the reliability of the instrument. Finally the questionnaire was redistributed to a sample of six organisations that are viewed as being ‘intrapreneurial’ and two that are regarded as being ‘non-intrapreneurial’. The data from this sample was used to test the validity of the Intrapreneurial Intensity Index and to demonstrate its application. This study resulted in an instrument that can be used to ascertain the intensity of intrapreneurship present in a large organisation. Specifically, this instrument can provide an overall view of the organisation’s intrapreneurial ability, as well as identify the specific areas in the organisation that require change or modification in order to become more intrapreneurial. This instrument provides a valuable means of identifying areas in need of organisational change, by determining an organisation’s intrapreneurial properties in the organisation’s core areas.