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This research investigated employees' perceptions as 'recipients' of change. It did so by seeking to understand and represent their views regarding what influences effective change processes. The significance of this research was the focus on employee perceptions and not those of management. It was research conducted at a grass-roots level seeking to provide a voice for those least often heard or asked. The research was conducted using participants from two case study organisations in the local government sector of Western Australia employing approximately 200 staff each. Both organisations were metropolitan and had been experiencing change within their organisations for some time. Within this research it is recognised that the phenomenon of organisational change is by no means new. Since the early 1970s literature has emerged proposing that our world and the world of work, both internally and externally, are about to change. Management books and the history of management and organisational life have been filled for years with issues relating to change. These include changing management practices, new techniques for achieving change and dealing with threats of what nonchange may bring. As the research was seeking to interpret respondents' meaning relating to the phenomenon of organisational change, it was not concerned with quantification, but with understanding the phenomenon from the viewpoint of those experiencing the change. This research was based on the belief that human behaviour, unlike that of physical objects, cannot be understood without reference to the meanings and purposes attached by the human actors to their activities. The ontological assumption of a socially constructed reality underpinned this study. The realities experienced were those as interpreted by employees. The epistemological assumption was that of interpretivism. / The realities experienced by respondents were subjective and, accordingly, the research's findings were literally created as the investigation proceeded. The methodological assumption was of a qualitative framework for understanding how change impacts on employees. Both the researcher and the employees under investigation therefore interacted in the process of meaning construction and clarification. The constructivist paradigm was therefore adopted as it emphasises a qualitative methodological approach. It was supported by theories of symbolic interactionism and phenomenology, which focus on the interpretation of the meaning of the employees' experiences within the phenomenon of organisational change. Grounded theory principles were used within the constructivist paradigm to provide a framework for ensuring that data analysis remained interpretative and that all emergent categories earned their place through the practices of constant comparison, not the preconceptions of the researcher. To further enhance this method, a triangulated approach to data sources and data collection methods for analysis included documentation, change manager interviews, and the primary sources of focus group interviews and individual in-depth interviews with employees. The findings are represented in a model identifying strategic efficiencies, organisational unity, skills and capabilities, humanistic application and relationship maintenance as the major factors as perceived by employees as influencing effective change. It presents both the what and the how of change as perceived by employees; i.e. what needs to be done and how. / The model presented within this research is recognised as a tentative model dependent on further investigation and study. It provides a useful perception of what employees believe would create effective organisational change, and it demands close and careful consideration by strategists and practitioners. The model is unique in its structure and representative in regard to its information source.

This thesis explored the dynamics of cost accounting systems (CAS). It focused on particular situations in which CAS can become institutionalised, embodying settled patterns of action and thought common to an organisation (Burns & Scapens, 2000). In such context, it is argued that the greater the degree of institutionalisation of CAS, the more difficult they are to change, and vice versa. This thesis has investigated the conditions and processes through which CAS can change and/or persist (i.e., remain relatively unchanged) through time. Exploring when, how and why institutional change and/or resistance may occur in CAS, is the specific motivation of this thesis. The following investigates CAS at a large oil refining organisation operating in Libya (RefCo). RefCo was undertaken as an interpretive case study, involving data collected through interviews, archives, internal company documentation and general (formal and informal) observations. The CAS in RefCo was subject to two change initiatives in a relatively short space of time. The first source of change was a requirement of its parent company to shift from a traditional production-orientation to a more commercial-orientation. With minimal resistance, the highly institutionalised CAS of RefCo evolved to become much more geared towards commercial decision-making. The second source of change originated in the recommendations of an external consulting organisation, who recommended that RefCo changed its CAS to take on more ‘best-practice’ principles, but also as part of a wider initiative of implementing Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERPs). However, this particular change initiative faced significant resistance. Analysis of the case was informed by institutional theory using, in particular, the concepts of deinstitutionalisation (Oliver, 1992), institutionalisation (Burns & Scapens, 2000), and politics and power mobilisation (Hardy, 1996). In contrast to the more conventional view that institutionalised practices (e.g., CAS in RefCo.) are difficult to change, this thesis has shown how such practices can be destabilised and changed through the configuration of a complex and dynamic process of costing system change. It suggests an institutional interdependence that underpins the interrelation between various components of the organisational system, and exemplifies an intertwining between CAS and operation control. While CAS change processes were shaped by ongoing changes in operation control, the outcomes of the former provided an institutional basis from which to make sense of the operational activities (Scapens, 1994). This interdependence helps sustain day-to-day organisational life in RefCo and contributes to our understanding of both change (processes) and resistance in relation to institutionalised practices. Moreover, we observed that a great deal of such change and/or resistance could be understood and explained in terms of politics and power mobilisation.

The major purposes of this study are twofold. The first purpose is to describe the setting and the context for the program and the methods by which a Government initiated change, a Participation and Equity Program,was introduced into a particular school. The second purpose is to consider the change process which occurred and to analyse the factors involved in the change and the procedures by which the change was managed. The study outlines ways in which change can become an issue on the political agenda and hence become a Government priority which is eventually handed down as policy to be followed by schools. Introduction of change in this manner is regarded as a top-down, or authoritarian, model of change. Such a model of change has the advantage of ensuring same change occurs within a specified time but at the same time there are disadvantages relating to a lack of skill, or expertise, amongst school staff and a possible lack of commitment to change. The study draws attention to problems encountered in the introductory procedures of the program which caused a sense of frustration amongst those attempting to manage the change at the school level. It is shown how the system failed to provide effective support at this level. It is suggested that there is a bureaucratic lack of understanding of the problems of implementing change in a school which is itself considered to be a loosely coupled organization with problems peculiar to itself. In summary the study suggests that progress was made, in this particular example, chiefly through efforts at the school level but the results could have been improved with effective system support. While there has been some success the change has not yet been institutionalized within the school.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine elementary education teacher perceptions of the change process that occurred in a public-school district during the four-year transition from a traditional grade reporting process to a standards-based system. The director of elementary education and a district leadership team provided oversight as the initial teacher cohort participated in a full school year of planning and designing the new standards-based report card for kindergarten and was executed the following school year. First-grade cohort teachers began their initial year of planning and design the same year kindergarten began implementation. The second-grade teacher cohort followed with the same progression. This study was designed to collect qualitative data from district cohort teachers who participated in the shift to the standards-based report card. The evidence was used to determine the successes and challenges involved with the collaborative reform process between district leaders and grade level cohort members in designing, creating, and implementing the standards-based report card. The system-change that occurred was explored and compared to Fullan’s (2016b) three dimensions of change model. The results of this study demonstrate a general interpretation of how cohort teachers perceived the relationships and interactions that influenced the leadership quality, effectiveness, and sustainability of change.

School divisions in Virginia implemented revised or new teacher evaluation systems beginning in 2012. These evaluation systems incorporated teacher portfolios, goal setting, and teacher performance assessment based on student achievement, and they were substantially different from those previously used by both teachers and their evaluators. This study was about how teachers and administrators experienced the implementation of this new evaluation system. Their observations, thoughts, feelings, and learning about themselves, and how they experienced this change were the topics of interest in the study. The setting for this case study was one elementary school in a small school division in southwestern Virginia. In-depth interviews of two administrators and 13 teachers of varied experience levels were conducted with a researcher-developed protocol by an outside interviewer. Data were analyzed with the constant comparative method. The experiences of the participants are reported in their own words. Their stories are descriptions of how they experienced the implementation of a second-order change in the evaluation of teachers in this small school division. Their experiences encompassed the entire process of change from the introduction of the change through the assimilation of the purposes and components of the new system and on to the training and support provided throughout the process. They described the changes in their responsibilities, their uncertainties, and their thoughts and feelings about the system as it moved toward institutionalization. And, they shared some recommendations for change in the process and the system. A model of change was derived from the participants' experiences and labeled the Legg Model of Change. / Ed. D.

Problematisering: Ungefär 70 procent av sammanslagningar och uppköp som genomförs runt om i världen lyckas inte nå sina uppsatta mål. Tidigare forskning har uppvisat en rad olika anledningar till detta, där förändringsarbetet har påvisats vara avgörande för tiden efter att sammanslagningen har ägt rum. Denna period benämns med begreppet PMI (post-merger integration) och syftar till att integrera tillgångar, arbetsuppgifter och personal från de verksamheter som omfattas av sammanslagningen. Problematiken som uppstår under dessa perioder har till stor del visat sig bero på mänskliga faktorer snarare än finansiella aspekter som företagsledningar kan visa ett större intresse för. Det är därför väsentligt att uppmärksamma hur både ledning och medarbetare upplever arbetssituationen, för att skapa förståelse av vad som kan vara avgörande inom förändringsarbete för en sammanslagnings efterföljande period. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att skapa förståelse av hur ledning och medarbetare upplever arbetssituationen, med avseende på förändringsarbete, efter en sammanslagning av två tidigare skilda verksamhetsgrenar inom samma koncern. Forskningsfrågor: Hur skiljer sig ledningens upplevelser från medarbetarnas? Vilka parametrar inom förändringsarbete kan vara avgörande för hur arbetssituationen upplevs av ledning och medarbetare efter en intern sammanslagning? Kunskapsbidrag: Efter studerandet av hur arbetssituationen upplevs i perioden efter en sammanslagning, kan studien ge en indikation på vilka aspekter som organisationer bör fokusera på under integrationsfasen för att lyckas sammanföra de involverade parterna. Slutsats: Studien har påvisat att upplevelser av arbetssituationen efter en sammanslagning skiljer sig mellan ledning och medarbetare. Detta har främst visat sig i synen på vad som anses vara möjligheter kontra utmaningar för organisationen samt synen på ansvarsfördelning. Gemensamma upplevelser har påvisats gällande  samarbete, behov av kontinuerligt förbättringsarbete och förståelse för att förändringar  tar tid. De parametrar som har fastställts vara avgörande inom förändringsarbete för hur arbetssituationen upplevs efter denna typ av organisatorisk förändring kan  sammanfattas i uppföljningsarbete, engagemang, kommunikationsförmåga, mottaglighet, förändringsbenägenhet samt samarbetsvillighet och delaktighet. / Problematisation: About 70 percent of all mergers and acquisitions do not reach their desired goals. Research has identified several reasons for this, and has shown that it is necessary to focus on the integration process after the merger. The time after the agreement has been closed between the two parties is referred to as post-merger integration (PMI), which includes the integration between assets, business activities and personnel. One reason why mergers fail in this context depends on human factors rather than financial aspects as the top management might focus on. Therefore, it can be crucial to observe how top managers and employees perceive their situation at work to create understanding of what factors within change management that can determine how the situation is perceived during the PMI-process. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to create understanding of how managers and employees perceive their situation at work during the post-merger integration process when two former differentiated business lines have been merged within the same group. Research questions: How do the perceptions differ between managers and employees? What factors within change management can determine how the situation at work is perceived by managers and employees after a merger? Contribution: To create understanding about change processes after a merger, this study can indicate what factors organisations should focus on in the post-merger integration process. Conclusion: This study shows that the perceptions of how the situation at work is perceived differs between managers and employees. The differentiated perceptions have principally been shown in the context of what can be considered as opportunities versus challenges and how responsibility is assigned within the organisation. Common perceptions have also been identified and these can be summarized in cooperation,  ongoing improvement work and understanding of the fact that organisational changes  take time. Regarding what factors within change management that can determine how the work situation is perceived, several have been revealed. These can be concluded in terms of follow-up, dedication, communication, susceptibility, willingness to change, cooperativeness and complicity.

Thesis advisor: Andy Hargreaves / After a decade of large-scale educational reform there is now a growing interest in grass-roots self-initiated change (Datnow et al., 2002; Hargreaves, 2009; Hargreaves & Shirley, 2009; Shirley, 2009). Yet, self-initiated change (SIC) remains largely undertheorized in the literature of educational change. Even the advocates of self-initiated change do not clearly specify the underlying mechanisms and the multi-dimensional processes by which SIC occurs. Utilizing a qualitative case study approach and a conceptual framework that draws from incremental institutional change theory and the literature on social movements within institutions, this study explored the following research questions: * What mechanisms do the change agents of SIC employ, How do they implement these mechanisms and why do they employ these mechanisms? * What are the characteristics of the processes of SIC? What is the pacing and sequencing of the change? * How does SIC unfold over time, and why? In answering these three initial questions a fourth research question emerged that summates the other three: *What implications does an investigation of self-initiated change in one school have for understanding existing theories of self-initiated and imposed educational change? Findings from this study revealed that self-initiated change involved a recombination that embodied the ideal of "change without pain" by balancing change and stability (Abrahamson, 2004). The process of self-initiated change turned out to be slow-moving (Pierson, 2004; Thelen & Mahoney, 2010). Mindful juxtaposition (Huy, 2001) and a dialectical perspective (Hargrave & Van de Ven, 2009) were required to address the multiple and contradictory dimensions of change. Based on these analyses, I propose ways of conceptualizing SIC as: "change without pain"; "slow-moving change"; and "dialectical/ cyclical change." / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Administration and Higher Education.

No atual ambiente corporativo, a implementação de mudanças organizacionais tornou-se um fato freqüente. Nesse processo de mudanças, o discurso organizacional presente nos textos produzidos pela alta administração, que constituem o discurso formal, acaba expressando pensamentos nem sempre aceitos sem questionamentos por todos os gestores da organização, dificultando o processo de mudança. A presença de discursos menos coerentes ou de discursos que competem com o discurso organizacional pode dificultar ou mesmo comprometer a eficácia do processo de mudança. Esta tese defende que, na ocorrência de um processo de mudança da Contabilidade Gerencial numa organização, o discurso influencia os níveis de institucionalização de novos conceitos que se desejam implementados. Para realizar o estudo a respeito dessa influência, utilizou-se de uma abordagem da Teoria Institucional, sob o enfoque da Velha Economia Institucional, usando-se como arcabouço teórico o modelo proposto por Burns e Scapens (2000), com ênfase nos estágios de codificação e institucionalização, bem como o modelo discursivo de institucionalização proposto por Phillips et al. (2004). O método de pesquisa aplicado foi o estudo de caso único, realizado na Caixa Econômica Federal, uma instituição financeira pública de grande porte que realiza simultaneamente atividades de natureza social (como uma agência governamental de fomento e administração exclusiva de fundos) e de natureza econômica (como um banco comercial que compete com outras instituições no mercado financeiro), a qual passou recentemente por um processo de mudanças profundas em sua Contabilidade Gerencial. Por meio da análise documental, seguida da realização de entrevistas com gestores da administração central e da análise do discurso, foi possível detectar a coexistência de dois discursos na organização: discurso social e discurso econômico. Posteriormente, foram aplicados questionários aos gestores das agências e gestores de produtos, usuários do Sistema de Contabilidade Gerencial, obtendo-se 4.259 respostas, no intuito de se verificar a ocorrência de associações entre os discursos e os níveis de institucionalização dos novos conceitos implementados na mudança. Os dados coletados foram objeto dos seguintes tratamentos estatísticos: estatística descritiva, Análise da Variância (ANOVA), Análise de Homogeneidade (Homals) e Análise de Correspondência (ANACOR). Verificou-se que há uma associação positiva entre a concordância com os conceitos de Contabilidade Gerencial e a concordância com o discurso econômico. Os indivíduos classificados como mais aderentes ao discurso econômico encontram-se associados positivamente entre um nível de institucionalização forte e médio, enquanto os indivíduos classificados como aderentes ao discurso social apresentaram associação positiva com o nível de institucionalização fraco. Dessa forma, os resultados sugerem que há influência do discurso no processo de institucionalização de conceitos de Contabilidade Gerencial, corroborando as proposições de Phillips et al. (2004), de que uma maior coerência entre discursos e conceitos presentes em textos tende a produzir instituições mais fortes e a existência de competição, entre dois discursos, pode dificultar um processo de mudança conceitual. À luz desses resultados, infere-se que o discurso, quando inserido em um processo de mudança conceitual, deva ser estruturado de acordo com as características e com o repertório de crenças de seu público-alvo, o que poderá provocar uma união coerente entre o exercício da linguagem e a prática operacional, possibilitando a transformação do campo institucional para o campo de ação de forma eficaz. / Within the current corporative environment, the implementation of organizational changes has been frequent. In this process of changes, the organizational discourse, found in the formal texts produced by the high administration, eventually expresses thoughts not always accepted before being firstly questioned by the other managers and that may cause difficulties for the changing process. The presence of less coherent discourses or discourses that challenge the organizational discourse may hinder or even affect the efficacy of changes. This thesis advocates that during a changing process within the Managerial Accounting of an organization, the discourse influences the levels for institutionalizing new concepts. This study of such influence was carried out by means of the Institutional Theory under the focus of the Old Institutional Economy, having as its theoretical framework the model proposed by Burns & Scapens (2000), emphasizing the stages of codification and institutionalization, as well as the discourse model of institutionalization proposed by Phillips et al. (2004). The research method consisted of a single case study related to Caixa Econômica Federal, a large public financial institution which performs social activities (as a governmental agency for funding and exclusive administration of funds) and economical activities (as a commercial bank which competes with other institutions in the financial market), which has recently undergone a process of deep changes in its Managerial Accounting. Through an analysis of documents, followed by interviews with central administration managers and discourse analysis, the co-existence of two discourses in the organization could be detected: social discourse and economical discourse. Later, questionnaires were applied to the managers of the bank branches and the managers of products, and to the users of the Managerial Accounting System in order to verify associations between the discourses and the levels of institutionalization of the new concepts. Out of the questionnaires, 4,259 answers were obtained. The data were submitted to the following statistical treatments: descriptive analysis, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Analysis of Homogeneity (Homals) and Analysis of Correspondence (ANACOR). It could be verified that there is a positive association between the concordance with the concepts of Managerial Accounting and a concordance with the economical discourse. The individuals classified as most adherent to the economical discourse are those positively associated with and between a strong or average level of institutionalization. On the other hand, those individuals adherent to the social discourse have a positive association with the weak level of institutionalization. Thus, the results suggest that the discourse influences the process for institutionalizing concepts of Managerial Accounting and corroborate the propositions of Phillips et al (2004) for a greater coherence between discourses, that concepts within texts may lead to stronger institutions, and that the existence of competition between two discourses may hinder the process of conceptual change. In face of these results one may say that the discourse, whenever placed in a process of conceptual change, must be structured according to the characteristics and beliefs of the target public, which may cause a coherent union between the exercise of the language and the operational practice and allow for an efficient transformation of the institutional site into a field of action.

A excelência logística constitui-se em um dos temas de freqüentes discussões no contexto acadêmico e empresarial, face à representatividade da atividade logística para a competitividade das organizações. Diversos autores apontam a existência de áreas-chave para o alcance dessa excelência, mas deixam de abordar as possíveis relações que possam existir entre elas. Diante deste cenário, o trabalho tem como objetivo contribuir com a identificação e caracterização das relações entre tais áreas-chave, mais especificamente no disparo e nos resultados gerados por processos de mudanças relacionados à logística. Para tanto, realizou-se um estudo de múltiplos casos junto a seis empresas do setor de bens de capital agrícolas identificadas pelo processo de amostragem do trabalho como empresas de excelência logística. Os resultados da pesquisa permitiram constatar que áreas-chave da excelência logística se relacionam diretamente com o disparo de processos de mudanças, além de sofrerem impactos com os resultados gerados pelos mesmos. Outro importante resultado reside na construção de uma estrutura apontando as principais características de casos bem sucedidos em gestão de mudanças relacionadas à logística de empresas do setor de bens de capital agrícolas, podendo servir como base de referência para empresas de outros setores na melhoria de seus processos logísticos. / The logistical excellence has been a frequently discussed topic in the enterprise and academic context, due to the importance of logistics to enhance the companies\' competitiveness. Several authors pointed out the existence of key elements to achieving the logistical excellence, but they usually fail to approach possible relationships among these elements, mainly when referring to triggers and results of logistics change process. In this way, the aim of this work was to identify and characterize these relationships. Therefore, a multiple-case study was undertaken in six companies, which were identified by research sampling process as high logistical performing companies. The results of this research confirm the relationships between the key elements and the change triggers and outcomes. The second research\'s contribution concerns the construction of a descriptive panel about the main characteristics of successful logistics change management in agricultural capital goods sector, which may be used by different industrial segments as reference for logistics process improvement.