A phenomenological study was conducted to explore and understand the personal experiences and meaning ascribed by senior leaders within a large multidisciplinary construction company. An effort was made to understand how they personally experienced leading others, what they learnt about themselves, what challenged them most, and what support, if any they had during their leadership of large-scale organisational change. The research found that there is a significant personal cost to the individual. This cost comes in terms of career, work-life balance and even reputation. It provides an opportunity to grow in self-knowledge, provided leaders are open to learn and reflect and that there is a substantive support structure both internally and externally to the organisation in order to ‘survive’. Without this malleable disposition, the already high cost escalates to the extent that it could be life threatening. In spite of the prolific literature available, the leaders claim that shareholders and most others do not understand the extreme length of time it takes to start and embed change that is sustainable. Without that understanding from the other role players, the leader carries not only the blame but also the scars of failed change. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

A phenomenological study was conducted to explore and understand the personal experiences and meaning ascribed by senior leaders within a large multidisciplinary construction company. An effort was made to understand how they personally experienced leading others, what they learnt about themselves, what challenged them most, and what support, if any they had during their leadership of large-scale organisational change. The research found that there is a significant personal cost to the individual. This cost comes in terms of career, work-life balance and even reputation. It provides an opportunity to grow in self-knowledge, provided leaders are open to learn and reflect and that there is a substantive support structure both internally and externally to the organisation in order to ‘survive’. Without this malleable disposition, the already high cost escalates to the extent that it could be life threatening. In spite of the prolific literature available, the leaders claim that shareholders and most others do not understand the extreme length of time it takes to start and embed change that is sustainable. Without that understanding from the other role players, the leader carries not only the blame but also the scars of failed change. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

BAKGRUND En övergång till ett aktivitetsbaserat kontorslandskap från cellkontor har blivit en populär kontorsutformning hos svenska kommuner. Det aktivitetsbaserade kontoret kan anses vara en funktionell lösning för kunskapsintensiva organisationer och ombyggnationen kan förklaras som en organisationsförändring. Några av de vanligaste orsakerna till att organisationsförändringar misslyckas beror på att de mänskliga resurserna inte utnyttjas på rätt sätt. HRs expertkunskap om de mänskliga resurserna kan därför spela en viktig funktion vid organisationsförändringar till aktivitetsbaserade kontorslandskap. SYFTE Studien syftar till att beskriva vilka roller HR intar vid organisationsförändringar till aktivitetsbaserade kontor. METOD Studien har genomförts med en kvalitativ metod genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med åtta respondenter i fem svenska kommuner. SLUTSATS Organisationsförändringar till aktivitetsbaserade kontor kan ses som en cyklisk förändringsprocess där den transformativa förändringen, som utgörs av ombyggnationen, även består av evolutionära förändringsprocesser som i sin tur berör de mänskliga resurserna. Denna tolkning medför att HRs roller vid en organisationsförändring till aktivitetsbaserat kontor har identifierats i förändringsfaserna upptining, genomförande och återfrysning. Arbetet med mänskliga resurser präglas av ett ständigt förbättringsarbete och kan därmed förstås som en evolutionär förändringsprocess utan ett tydligt slut. Utifrån HRs expertkunskap om de mänskliga resurserna visar studiens resultat därmed att HR-medarbetarna i de studerade kommunerna agerar som förändringsledare i de evolutionära förändringsprocesserna som ett aktivitetsbaserat kontor medför snarare än kopplat till det transformativa. / BACKGROUND A transition to an activity-based office from cell-offices has become a popular office design in Swedish municipalities. The activity-based office can be considered a functional solution for knowledge-intensive organizations and the remodelling can be explained as an organizational change. Some of the most common reasons for organizational change failing are due to the inadequate use of human resources. HR's expert knowledge of human resources can therefore play an important role in organizational changes to activity-based offices. PURPOSE The study's purpose is to describe the roles HR takes in organizational change to activity[1]based offices. METHOD The study was conducted using a qualitative method through semi-structured interviews with eight respondents in five Swedish municipalities. CONCLUSION Organizational changes to activity-based offices can be seen as a cyclical process of change where the transformative change, which consists of the redevelopment, also consists of evolutionary change processes that in turn affect the human resources. This interpretation means that HR's roles in an organizational change to activity-based offices have been identified in the phases of change unfreeze, change and refreeze. The work with human resources is characterized by continuous improvement work and can thus be understood as an evolutionary process of change without a specific end. Based on HR's expert knowledge of human resources, the study's results thus show that HR employees in the studied municipalities act as change leaders in the evolutionary change processes that an activity-based office entails rather than linked to the transformative.

The main aim of the research project was to develop a change agent identification framework, to be used by organisational change management specialists to identify change agents more effectively in large organisations moving forward. To date, little research has been conducted regarding the role and identification of change agents in large organisations. In the context of the research project, the sample of change agents used, referred to employees affected by the change, spread across the organisation, assisting in communicating key messages and ensuring that their peers become change ready. A thorough 12-step empirical research process was followed, which included both a qualitative and quantitative approach. The qualitative process consisted of the development of a change agent identification framework, comprising of four dimensions, each with supportive information and/or items. The aim of the quantitative process was to empirically test the personality trait dimension of the framework with a sample group of 27 change agents and 135 employees influenced by a transformation process. This was to determine which change agent personality traits has a positive impact/effect on employee change readiness levels during transformation. Through a rigorous analysis process, only the phlegmatic, persuasive and optimistic personality traits resulted in having some positive effect on employees during a transformation process. In support of these findings, the literature study findings as well as the qualitative empirical research findings indicated that the persuasive and optimistic personality traits need to form part of a change agents’ personality profile. The phlegmatic personality trait was not evident throughout all literature findings. The literature and empirical results contributed towards a comprehensive understanding of the way in which individuals should be identified as change agents in large organisations. The developed framework should assist industrial and organisational psychologists in the future to identify individuals as change agents, more efficiently. Recommendations were made on the future expansion of a knowledge base for organisational change agents. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / D. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The main aim of the research project was to develop a change agent identification framework, to be used by organisational change management specialists to identify change agents more effectively in large organisations moving forward. To date, little research has been conducted regarding the role and identification of change agents in large organisations. In the context of the research project, the sample of change agents used, referred to employees affected by the change, spread across the organisation, assisting in communicating key messages and ensuring that their peers become change ready. A thorough 12-step empirical research process was followed, which included both a qualitative and quantitative approach. The qualitative process consisted of the development of a change agent identification framework, comprising of four dimensions, each with supportive information and/or items. The aim of the quantitative process was to empirically test the personality trait dimension of the framework with a sample group of 27 change agents and 135 employees influenced by a transformation process. This was to determine which change agent personality traits has a positive impact/effect on employee change readiness levels during transformation. Through a rigorous analysis process, only the phlegmatic, persuasive and optimistic personality traits resulted in having some positive effect on employees during a transformation process. In support of these findings, the literature study findings as well as the qualitative empirical research findings indicated that the persuasive and optimistic personality traits need to form part of a change agents’ personality profile. The phlegmatic personality trait was not evident throughout all literature findings. The literature and empirical results contributed towards a comprehensive understanding of the way in which individuals should be identified as change agents in large organisations. The developed framework should assist industrial and organisational psychologists in the future to identify individuals as change agents, more efficiently. Recommendations were made on the future expansion of a knowledge base for organisational change agents. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / D. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

No description available.